§ 21. Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed changes to the widows' pension arrangements on widows who are currently not entitled to income support. [63210]
§ Angela EagleThe proposals set out in the consultation document, "Support in Bereavement", would have no effect on current widows.
Widows who are currently receiving a widow's pension would continue to do so for as long as they satisfy the current qualifying conditions.
It is estimated that, in the first year, in the region of 20,000 widows widowed after implementation of the new scheme would receive Bereavement Allowance and of those around 15 per cent. would become entitled to Income Support after six months.