§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what estimate he has made of the number of widows who will receive reduced benefit payments following the implementation of his reform proposals; [66352]
(2) what category of widows who submit their claims under the new rules will receive reduced benefit under his reform proposals. [66262]
§ Angela EagleFollowing implementation of the proposals, widows and widowers aged over 45 when they are widowed and who are not entitled to Widowed Parent' s Allowance will be able to claim Bereavement Allowance, which will be payable for up to six months.
470WIn the first full year following implementation, it is estimated that, at any one time, the average number of widows and widowers entitled to the Bereavement Allowance, which will end after 6 months, will be 20,000.
Notes:
1. Numbers of widows and widowers have been supplied by the Government Actuary's Department.
2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000.
3. These estimates are intended to represent broad orders of magnitude.