Petition Make separated parents eligible for the Bereavement Support Payment
If one parent dies, the surviving parent is NOT currently eligible for the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) unless they were married, in a civil partnership or living together as if they were married. The BSP should be extended to the separated, surviving parent.
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Thousands of children who have lost a parent do not benefit from this financial support if their parents were separated. Even if the surviving parent was dependent on maintenance payments, or any financial support from the deceased parent, they are not entitled to a penny from the Government. We believe allowing a child who had married parents to benefit from thousands of pounds from the BSP, yet not allowing this for a child with separated parents, is a discriminatory benefit gap that must be closed.
At 10,000 signatures...
At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to this petition
At 100,000 signatures...
At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament