Unmarried mother wins battle over benefits cash for widows
AN UNMARRIED mother won access to a widowed parent’s allowance in a landmark court ruling yesterday that could open the floodgates for thousands of families.
Siobhan McLaughlin, 46, was refused the benefit after her partner John Adams died from cancer in January 2014 because the couple – who had four children and lived together for 23 years – were not married or in a civil partnership.
Miss McLaughlin, from County Antrim, northern Ireland, initially won a legal case after claiming unlawful discrimination based on her marital status, but that ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
But, by a majority of four justices to one, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the current law on the allowance was ‘incompatible’ with human rights legislation.
The ruling is expected to have farreaching ramifications, allowing people across the UK to apply for similar payments.
Giving the lead judgment, the court’s president Lady Hale said: ‘ The allowance exists because of the responsibilities of the deceased and the survivor towards their children.
‘Those responsibilities are the same whether or not they are married to or in a civil partnership with one another.
‘The purpose of the allowance is to diminish the financial loss caused to families with children by the death of a parent. That loss is the same whether or not the parents are married or in a civil partnership with one another.’
But Lady Hale said not every case where an unmarried parent was denied the allowance after the death of their partner will be unlawful. The court also said it was up to the Government to decide whether or how to change the law.
Campaigners called on the Government to update the law to accommodate cohabiting couples who chose not to marry.
Alison Penny, director of the Childhood Bereavement network, said the current rules affected an estimated 2,000 families a year.
She said: ‘We urge Parliament to amend the relevant legislation as quickly as possible, and to clarify the position for those parents who were previously deemed ineligible because of their marital status.’
The maximum widowed parent’s allowance is £ 117.10 a week. The amount received is based on how much the claimant’s late husband, wife or civil partner paid in national Insurance contributions.
Miss McLaughlin’s late partner John Adams was a groundsman. They had four children together – Stuart, 23, Lisa, 21, Billy, 16, and Rebecca, 15.
Following Mr Adams’s death, special needs classroom assistant Miss McLaughlin had to take an evening job as a cleaner after being refused the allowance by the northern Ireland department for Communities.
Speaking after yesterday’s ruling, Miss McLaughlin said: ‘I have cried, I have beamed with joy, I have cried more, it’s been surreal. I am really happy.
‘This case was always about the rights of bereaved children. I am so delighted that the Supreme Court shared our view that the law as it stands has discriminated against my children.
‘I hope that my taking and succeeding with this challenge gives others both confidence and courage to continue to challenge the unfairness and inequalities in our laws in northern Ireland and throughout the UK.’
Child Poverty Action Group’s director of policy Louisa McGeehan said: ‘The Government must now move swiftly to apply the principle and ensure that all children who experience the death of a parent are supported financially on the same basis as children whose parents are married.’
The department for Work and Pensions said: ‘We will consider the court’s ruling carefully.
‘Widowed parent’s allowance was a contributory benefit and it has always been the case that inheritable benefits derived from another person’s contributions should be based on the concept of legal marriage or civil partnership. This ruling doesn’t change the current eligibility rules for receiving bereavement benefits.’