Housing Benefit and Pension Credit: Polygamy
Commons · Question 97043 · Tabled 3 Dec 2025 · Department for Work and Pensions · Official record
Answered 7 Jan 2026
Question
Asked by Scott Arthur
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households where (a) Pension Credit and (b) Housing Benefit is claimed receive additional consideration due to there being a polygamous marriage.
Answer
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms, 7 Jan 2026
Since 1988 rules have been in place under successive governments which limit access to benefits for people in polygamous marriages to those who were married in a country which allows such marriages. Any polygamous relationship formed in the United Kingdom...