Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of widowed parent's allowance claimants who would fall below the poverty line as a result of recent changes to that allowance.

Current recipients of Widowed Parent’s Allowance will continue to receive that benefit for the natural lifetime of their award. There will be no change in payments of Widowed Parent’s Allowance to these claimants.

The new Bereavement Support Payment will replace Widowed Parent’s Allowance and other bereavement benefits for those whose spouse or civil partner dies on or after 6 April 2017. Lower income households will benefit from this reform as, unlike the bereavement benefits it replaces, Bereavement Support Payment will be paid in full in addition to any income replacement benefits that they are entitled to. This will ensure that the least well off families are not disadvantaged.