Frank Field seeks government clarity for cohabiting couples

Work and Pensions (WPC) Committee chairman Frank Field, who resigned as Labour whip last week, has addressed his concerns regarding bereavement rights for cohabiting couples with dependent children in a letter to MP Justin Tomlinson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DWP.

The letter, sent on 5 September 2018, addresses the recent ruling by the Supreme Court to allow bereavement payment to an unmarried mother of four - reported on here - an issue that he says was raised to government back as far as March 2016.

‘It is quite incredible that the government continues to resist righting this profound and ongoing injustice, even in the light of a ruling from the Supreme Court,' writes Field. ‘There is now a need for the government to act quickly, to provide certainty for bereaved families.'

Within the letter Field asks the following questions:

1. Will you now set a specific date for providing an update, to bereaved families and to the House?
2. In the meantime, what guidance will the government be giving to bereaved families, to support them during this period of uncertainty?
3. Will the Government now consider changes to the eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payment, as our predecessor Committee recommended in 2016?

Read the full letter here. 

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• Topics
• Regulation
• Individual Protection
• department for work and pensions
• DWP
• cohabitation
• MP
• Secretary of State
• Frank Field
• chair
• Justin Tomlinson