Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the long-term effect on incomes of households with children affected by the planned replacement of widowed parent's allowance by bereavement allowance.

Bereavement support payments (BSP) will replace both Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Allowance for those bereaved from April 2017 onwards.

BSP will not be taken into account when calculating income for the benefit cap and will also be paid in addition to income related benefits to ensure that the least well off families are financially better off under the reform.

Further information is provided via the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311318/pensions-act-ia-annex-d-bereavement-support-payment.pdf