Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
VICTORY FOR CHILDREN
Siobhan in legal fight over bereavement benefits after partner of 23yrs dies
A BEREAVED mum of four from Northern Ireland last night hailed her Supreme Court victory for children.
Siobhan Mclaughlin was refused benefits when John Adams, her partner of 23 years, died as they were not married.
The 47-year-old took legal action and judges yesterday ruled in her favour.
She said: “For me it never was about the money. To be able to fight for a child’s rights and win is brilliant.”
A MUM of four was celebrating last night after a court ruled children of unmarried parents should not be disadvantaged because they chose not to marry.
Siobhan Mclaughlin’s legal victory sparked calls for the Government to change the law on bereavement benefits.
The 47-year-old was refused the payments after her partner of 23 years John Adams died from cancer in January 2014.
The Co Antrim woman was turned down because the couple, who had four children, were not married or in a civil partnership.
But, by a majority of four justices to one, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday the current law on the allowance is “incompatible” with human rights legislation. Giving the lead judgment, President Lady Brenda Hale said the couple’s children “should not suffer this disadvantage” because their parents did not marry.
Campaigners urged the Government to update the law to accommodate cohabiting couples who choose not to marry.
Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network Alison Penny said the current rules affect an estimated 2,000 families a year.
She added: “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.
“We pay tribute to Siobhan for having the courage to bring this test case and improve the situation for thousands of grieving children and their surviving parents.”
Child Poverty Action Group’s director of policy Louisa Mcgeehan said: “The Government must now move swiftly to apply the principle and ensure all children who experience the death of a parent are supported financially on the same basis as children whose parents are married.”
Ms Mclaughlin, a special needs classroom assistant from Armoy, was with Mr Adams, a groundsman, for 23 years.
They had four children – Stuart, 23, Lisa, 21, Billy, 16, and 15-year-old Rebecca.
Following Mr Adams’ death, Ms Mclaughlin had to take on an evening job after being refused widowed parent’s allowance by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities.
Lady Hale said the purpose of the benefit was to “diminish the financial loss” caused to families with children by the death of a parent.
She added: “That loss is the same whether or not the parents are married or in a civil partnership with one another.”
But the judge said not every case where an unmarried parent is denied the allowance after the death of their partner will be unlawful.
The court added it is up to the Government to decide whether or how to change the law.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We will consider the court’s ruling carefully.”