[vahid-ahmadi]

Summary

Corrects docs/book/programs/gov/dwp/bereavement-support-plan.md. The page reached main through #2386, and #2573 has since added widowed_parents_allowance_reported and widowed_parents_allowance. This PR keeps #2573's account of those variables and applies the corrections that still hold:

• Data notes: Microcosm UK is now the certified default dataset, and its main branch moves FRS code 9 to war_widows_pension_reported (microcosm#1333). bsp_reported keeps CPI uprating until code 9 and WPA are both moved out.
• BSP: the lump sum needs a claim within 12 months and all 18 monthly payments a claim within 3 months; the higher-rate test follows SI 2017/410 reg 4.
• 2023 Remedial Order: it covers the McLaughlin (WPA) and Jackson (BSP) judgments, and cuts the monthly payments for cohabitee deaths before 30 August 2018 (SI 2017/410 reg 2(7) to (11)).
• WPA: paid for deaths before 6 April 2017 (not a woman's husband before 9 April 2001), continues while the survivor gets Child Benefit and is under State Pension age, uprated each April (£156.65 a week from April 2026). It is closed to deaths from 6 April 2017, but still takes new claims for earlier deaths (GOV.UK; SSCBA 1992 s. 39A(1)(a)); about 3,400 such claims followed the Remedial Order.

Reconciled with #2573: dropped "the legacy WPA has no variable of its own", and Phase 2 now proposes replacing the adds of widowed_parents_allowance with a formula rather than adding the variable.

Changelog: changelog.d/466-bereavement-support-corrections.changed.md.

Test plan

• Merged main (no rebase); no conflict markers; reference links resolve.
• CI documentation build.

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[MaxGhenis]

UK hub (Claude build session, for Max)
Ready for hub review

Head: f70067f6aeaf5fc5a6ab595204a9bd96acb91cac

Read this first. The page is already on main through #2386 (d50ee85a9, merged 2026-10-21). Main corrected it after that branch was cut (d7ed2889a, 1d9405370: the single initial payment, held-flat rates and the War Widow's Pension split), and its changelog line shipped in 2.143.0 (CHANGELOG.md:188). This branch was a stale copy: GitHub showed an add/add conflict, and merging would have reverted those fixes.

This branch now:

• merges main at c65bced64 (merge commit 232f39826), resolving the conflict to main's page;
• deletes changelog.d/466.added.md;
• applies the remaining corrections to main's copy;
• adds changelog.d/466-bereavement-support-corrections.changed.md.

Against main, the diff is the page and the fragment. Suggested title on landing: "Correct the bereavement support plan".

The plan is still worth having. BSP is still reported-only (variables/gov/dwp/bsp.py:11 adds = ["bsp_reported"]), there is no WPA variable or BSP/WPA parameter on main, and #466 and #465 are open.

Claims checked (main a45baf5e4, re-checked on c65bced64)

Claim	Verdict	Source
bsp excerpt and reported-only status	true	policyengine_uk/variables/gov/dwp/bsp.py:4-11
Enhanced FRS "certified"; Microcosm "being built to replace it"	outdated: Microcosm UK has been the default since policyengine.py 6.10.0; repo tests still pin EFRS 1.58.1	policyengine.py bundle manifest; tests/certified_dataset.yaml
EFRS and Microcosm fill bsp_reported from codes 6 and 9	uk-data true (frs.py:1487-1489 isin((6, 9))). Microcosm true at 75167a68, but its main now uses benefit == 6 and puts code 9 in war_widows_pension_reported (frs_spine.py:1000-1007, commit bbd0cfdddf in microcosm#1333, merged 2026-10-22)	gh api
"legacy widow's benefits" in code 6	made precise: the FRS labels code 6 "Bereavement Support Payment / Widowed Parent's Allowance" and code 9 "War Widow's/Widower's Pension"	FRS 2021-22 benefits documentation (UKDS SN 9073), PENBEN3 and PENBEN5
Code 9 split status (uk-data#578, microcosm#1222, #2381)	updated: done on Microcosm main; uk-data#578, microcosm#1222 and #2381 still open	issue states
Lump sum £2,500 / £3,500	amounts true; added that it is paid only on a claim within 12 months	SI 2017/410 reg 3(2), (5)
"18 monthly payments"	fixed to "up to 18": all 18 only if claimed within 3 months; fewer if reaching State Pension age	https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment/what-youll-get
Higher rate: Child Benefit for a child living with them, or pregnant	widened to reg 4, which includes later entitlement for a child who lived with either partner	SI 2017/410 reg 4(2)-(4)
Remedial Order 2023 back to 30 August 2018 after McLaughlin	true; added Jackson [2020] EWHC 183 (Admin) for BSP	SI 2023/134 art 1(3) and Explanatory Note
"It didn't change the number of payments"	fixed: cohabitees bereaved 6 April 2017 to 29 August 2018 get 18 − Y payments	SI 2017/410 reg 2(7)-(11) ("W months … 18 less Y")
bsp_higher_rate_eligible = "has a dependent child"	fixed to the reg 4 test	as above
BSP held flat (SI 2026/148 art 19)	true (main already had this)	—
WPA "for deaths from April 2001 up to 5 April 2017"	fixed: deaths before 6 April 2017, except a woman's husband before 9 April 2001	SSCBA 1992 s. 39A(1)(a), (1A)
WPA "continued for as long as … dependent child"	fixed: Child Benefit (or pregnancy) and under pensionable age; ends on a new partnership	s. 39A(4), (5)
WPA "was uprated annually"	tense fixed: still uprated, £156.65 from April 2026	SI 2026/148 art 18(b) (£150.90 → £156.65)
wpa_eligible rule	fixed: date rule, contribution conditions, no new partnership, qualifying child	s. 39A(2) (Sch 3 Pt I para 5), (4)-(5)
"WPA has no new awards"	false: claims for deaths before 6 April 2017 are still possible; 3,400 successful WPA claims under the Remedial Order (Feb 2023 to Nov 2024)	DWP, published 14 July 2025
FRS is a cross-section, not a panel	true	FRS background note (review agent)
"doesn't record when a partner died"	softened to "its benefits documentation shows no record": a full questionnaire check wasn't possible	—
Stat-Xplore BSP and WPA caseloads by age, sex and region	BSP true (back-series to April 2017); WPA on current Stat-Xplore unconfirmed, so the page now says "where DWP still publishes them"	DWP BSP statistics background and methodology
Open question: cohabitee eligibility "for deaths from" 30 August 2018	fixed: deaths from 6 April 2017, with the reduced period before 30 August 2018	Pensions Act 2014 s. 30(1)(aa); SI 2017/410 reg 2(7)

Corrections: 15.

Uncertain

• The certified Microcosm cut of 19 October probably still sums code 9 into bsp_reported. This is inferred from commit dates; I didn't read the private file.
• Whether the FRS VAR2 "Wid" field could separate BSP from WPA within code 6 is unchecked.
• Northern Ireland BSP law (Pensions Act (NI) 2015 s. 29) is not covered by the page. That is a gap, not a false claim.

Full ledger: ~/reviews/uk-hub/jobs/docs-c2/b/1737-ledger.md.

[vahid-ahmadi]

Holding this one out of the merge queue. #2573 (María's spousal maintenance, Widowed Parent's Allowance and related inputs) merged into main on 23 October at 17:24 UTC and edits this same page, and the branch now conflicts with main.

Next step, for someone with push rights to this branch: merge main, then reconcile this PR's corrections with #2573's version of the page, in particular the wording on WPA new claims (closed to deaths from 6 April 2017, with later claims for earlier deaths) and the WPA variables: main now has widowed_parents_allowance_reported and widowed_parents_allowance variables and WPA means-test disregards, so the page should no longer say the legacy WPA has no variable of its own or propose adding one. Once that is done and CI is green, it can go into the queue.

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[vahid-ahmadi]

Merged main in (2280c86) and kept #2573's WPA variables, dropping "WPA has no variable of its own", proposing a formula to replace the adds of widowed_parents_allowance, and stating, per GOV.UK and SSCBA s. 39A(1)(a), that WPA is closed to deaths from 6 April 2017 but still takes new claims for earlier deaths; CI green, queued.

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