Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Universal Credit: Death of a Child

Monday 5 December 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions on Universal Credit: Death of a Child were held on 2022-12-05
  • Wera Hobhouse questioned the impact of benefit loss on grieving parents
  • The Minister offered to discuss run-on provisions with Hobhouse to support financial transition after a child's death

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP is concerned about the financial impact on families receiving Universal Credit when a parent transitions into full-time caregiving due to the death of a child. She mentions that her constituents face significant strain due to benefit changes.

Question

I am not entirely certain whether the Minister just announced a change in what the Government are doing, but may I press him on the issue affecting my constituents? The loss of these benefits places a heavy financial strain on parents who are already suffering from overwhelming grief. One of my constituents knows this. I have asked the Minister and his predecessor on several occasions for a meeting to see how to mitigate that. If he has just announced a change, I would be happy if he could explain what has now changed. Will he please meet me to explain what the changes are?

Answer from Guy Opperman

The hon. Lady may not know, but I lost twin boys and fully understand the difficulties her constituent faces in terms of bereavement. It is clearly the case that there are the run-on provisions, but I would happy to sit down with her to explain the run-on provisions and the extent to which there is ongoing support for the bereaved.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for a detailed explanation of recent changes was not directly addressed; instead, the Minister offered to meet to discuss existing provisions.

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Q2 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP inquires about the support available to parents who are transitioning into full-time caregiving due to the death of a child, highlighting concerns over financial strain and previous requests for meetings.

Question

Whether his Department is taking steps to support parents in receipt of universal credit with the financial transition when a full-time caring role changes following the death of a child with a life-limiting condition.

Answer from Guy Opperman

The answer is yes. We want universal credit to provide support to claimants even where they have suffered bereavement of a child. Where a bereavement happens, we seek to ensure that the child element, disabled child element, childcare, carer element and housing element with the run-on provisions will all continue, notwithstanding the loss.

Answered
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