Bereavement Support Payment

(asked on 16th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Supreme Court judgment [2018] UKSC 48, what assessment have they made of the impact on family finances of not providing retrospective Bereavement Support Payment to families where the date of death of a family member was prior to 30 August 2018.


This question was answered on 22nd September 2021

The Supreme Court and the High Court have declared the legislation governing Widowed Parent’s Allowance (WPA) and Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) respectively to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in that surviving cohabitees with children cannot access these benefits.

The draft proposal for a Bereavement Benefits (2021) Remedial Order was laid before Parliament on 15th July 2021 and proposes to extend eligibility for Widowed Parent’s Allowance (WPA) and Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) to surviving cohabitees with dependent children.

The changes proposed by the draft Order have effect from 30th August 2018, as this was the date of the Supreme Court judgment in the McLaughlin case. Where a death occurred before 30th August 2018, there can be eligibility for both WPA and BSP, but awards can only be made in respect of entitlement arising from that date.

The proposals in the draft Order are subject to a 60-day laying period during which comments are invited from parliamentarians and stakeholders about the proposals. These comments will then be reviewed and next steps considered.

An assessment of the impact on family finances of not providing BSP to families where the death of a family member occurred prior to 30th August 2018 has not been made.

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