Social Security Benefits: Polygamy
Commons · Question 677 · Tabled 13 May 2026 · Department for Work and Pensions · Official record
Answered 20 May 2026
Question
Asked by Andrew Snowden
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of benefits payments to spouses in polygamous marriages (i) made in the past 12 months and (ii) expected to be made in the forthcoming 12 months.
Answer
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms, 20 May 2026
The most recent published data (August 2025) from the Housing Benefit Single Housing Extract (SHBE) indicates that there are fewer than ten households where claimants are recorded as being in a polygamous marriage formed in another country. In these excep...