18 months after Siobhan McLaughlin won her case for Widowed Parent’s Allowance in the Supreme Court, and the day after the Government was refused permission to appeal a similar case on Bereavement Support Payment, 18 organisations have come together to write an open letter to the Prime Minister urging change to the rules that deny bereavement benefits to unmarried, cohabiting parents.
The letter reads
We were pleased to hear your comments at Prime Minister’s Questions on 12 February 2020 about the ineligibility of bereaved parents who were cohabiting and their grieving children to bereavement benefits.
It meant a great deal to us – and to parents and children in this situation who are grieving the loss of their mother or father – to hear you describe it as an ‘injustice’. We are very encouraged by your undertaking to do what you can ‘to remedy this’.
We would therefore be grateful if you would work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to bring forward legislation to extend eligibility to the new Bereavement Support Payment and the old Widowed Parent’s Allowance to cohabiting, unmarried parents, and to clarify the position for those previously deemed ineligible. As you know, the requirements for parents to have been married or in a civil partnership with their partner who died have been declared incompatible with human rights legislation, by the High Court and the Supreme Court, respectively. We respectfully ask that this be done quickly, as another five families with children fall foul of the current criteria each day.
We would be very pleased to support officials in working through the practical implications of these changes.
We look forward to supporting you and colleagues in levelling up for this group of vulnerable bereaved children and their surviving parents.
Yours sincerely,
Sharon Cornford
Chair, Association of Bereavement Service CoordinatorsPhilippa Graham and Wendy Ashton
Co-chairs, Association of Palliative Care Social WorkersAlison Penny
Director, Childhood Bereavement NetworkAmy Woodhouse
Head of Policy, Projects and Participation, Children in ScotlandSteven Wibberley
CEO, Cruse Bereavement CareKeith Robertson
CEO, Cruse Bereavement Care ScotlandShelley Gilbert
Founder, Life Patron and Trustee, Grief EncounterTracey Bleakley
CEO, Hospice UKJohn Birrell
Founder Chair, Scottish Working Group on Funeral PovertyGeorgia Elms
Vice Chair, Life Matters the taskforce for bereaved familiesChris James
Director of External Affairs, MND AssociationAnna Feuchtwang
CEO, National Children’s BureauSatwat Rehman
Director, One Parent Families ScotlandLindesay Mace
Down to Earth Acting Manager, Quaker Social ActionAnnabel Howell
Chair, Scottish Partnership for Palliative CareSarah Gigg
Director of Nursing, Interim Director of Hospices, Sue RyderRebecca Cooper
CEO, WAY Widowed and YoungFergus Crow
CEO, Winston’s Wish
Read more about the campaign for bereavement benefits for cohabiting parents and their children.