Social Security: Married and Unmarried Couples

HL Deb 07 July 1997 vol 581 cc49-50WA

Lord Lucas

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What advantages accrue to an unmarried couple as opposed to a married couple under the present social security system.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham

A key aim of the department's review of the social security system will be to develop a strategy by which we will modernise the structure and delivery of social security to encourage independence, social cohesion and well-being. The present system broadly aims to treat unmarried couples no more advantageously than couples who are married. In the income-related benefits, an unmarried couple living together like a husband and wife is treated in exactly the same way as a married couple. Entitlement is assessed on the basis of the couple's combined needs and resources. In the contributory and non-contributory benefits, where adult dependency increases are payable, they are normally paid in respect of a spouse, but can also be paid for a person with care of the claimant's children while there is financial dependency on the claimant.