REFORM OF BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT PAYMENT

That this House notes with concern the reduction in financial support given to widowed parents with dependent children through the new Bereavement Support Payment (BSP); believes that the duration of 18 months of payments is too short to provide families with the financial support they need; recognises that the limited evidence that is available suggests the risk of serious distress following bereavement for either or both the parent and children remains high for at least three years for almost every family, and in some cases for much longer; and therefore calls on the Government to extend the duration of these payments to at least six years and to consider further reforms to the BSP system including lifting full conditionality requirements for universal credit for a widowed parent with dependent children for at least three years after the bereavement and extending the BSP to unmarried, cohabiting partners with dependent children when one parent dies.