Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which charities and voluntary sector organisations were consulted on proposed changes to the Widowed Parents' Allowance; and what the results of that consultation were.

The Government published a consultation document in December 2011 entitled Bereavement Benefit for the 21^st Century (link below) which sought views on proposals to reform the current system (link below).

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220372/bereavement-benefit.pdf.

We received 50 responses from a variety of organisations including charities and the voluntary sector, and these were summarised in the Government Response published in July 2012 (link below). The organisations that responded are listed in that report.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181257/bereavement-benefit-consultation-response.pdf