§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to change the rules for claiming bereavement benefits. [77652]
§ Malcolm WicksI have laid Regulations today to amend the Social Security Claims and Payments Regulations, 1987. Subject to Parliament's approval they simplify the rules for claiming bereavement benefits.
Bereavement benefits were introduced in April 2001. We have been looking at the way the three elements fit together and whether there might be improvements made by simplifying the rules. Depending on when someone claims a bereavement benefit there can be two separate social security decisions to be made—one for the weekly benefit of either Widowed Parent's Allowance or Bereavement Allowance and another for the lump-sum Bereavement Payments when there is no real difference in the qualification rules. This is both time-consuming and can be confusing for bereaved people themselves.
We want bereaved people to claim and receive the help that they and their families are entitled to when they need it—immediately after the bereavement. Most people do; more than four fifths claim within four or five weeks of their loss. The claim is easy to make; using only one form, a widow or widower can claim whichever of these three benefits they may be entitled to without further form-filling. However, we acknowledge that not all bereaved people find it possible to claim as promptly as the current rules for the lump-sum Bereavement Payment require. To simplify matters further, we are extending the time limit for claiming Bereavement Payment and aligning it with the period over which a person can receive Bereavement Allowance—namely 12 months. We see this as a sensible alteration that will simplify the scheme for everyone while remaining compatible with underlying benefit entitlement rules.
We intend to make this change effective for claims in respect of deaths that occur on or after 1 April 2003.