Officials have admitted that polygamous households, of which there are an estimated 1,000 in Britain, could be handed more money under reforms to the welfare system.
Currently the state effectively recognises polygamous marriages by paying extra wives smaller amounts of income support in addition to the normal sum received by the husband and their first spouse.
When the streamlined Universal Credit regime is introduced next year, this policy will be scrapped.
But a House of Commons library paper admits that as an unintended consequence of this, any second or third wives in a household would be able to claim a full single person’s benefits in addition to the standard amount claimed by the husband and their first wife. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more
