Multiple wives will mean multiple benefits
Husbands with multiple wives have been given the go-ahead to claim extra
welfare benefits following a year-long Government review, The Sunday
Telegraph can reveal.
Even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, the decision by ministers means
that polygamous marriages can now be recognised formally by the state, so
long as the weddings took place in countries where the arrangement is legal.
The outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife, as is
permitted under Islamic law. Ministers estimate that up to a thousand
polygamous partnerships exist in Britain, although they admit there is no
exact record.
The decision has been condemned by the Tories, who accused the Government of
offering preferential treatment to a particular group, and of setting a
precedent that would lead to demands for further changes in British law.
New guidelines on income support from the Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP) state: "Where there is a valid polygamous marriage the claimant and
one spouse will be paid the couple rate ... The amount payable for each
additional spouse is presently £33.65."
Income support for all of the wives may be paid directly into the husband's
bank account, if the family so choose. Under the deal agreed by ministers, a
husband with multiple wives may also be eligible for additional housing
benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the larger property needed for
his family.
The ruling could cost taxpayers millions of pounds. Ministers launched a
review of the benefit rules for polygamous marriages in November 2006, after
it emerged that some families had benefited financially.
The review concluded in December last year with agreement that the extra
benefits should continue to be paid, the Government admitted. The decision
was not publicly announced.
Four departments - the Treasury, the DWP, HM Revenue and Customs, and the
Home Office - were involved in the review, which concluded that recognising
multiple marriages conducted overseas was "the best possible" option. In
Britain, bigamy is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Islamic law permits men to have up to four wives at any one time - known as
a harem - provided the husband spends equal amounts of time and money on
each of them.
A DWP spokesman claimed that the number of people in polygamous marriages
entering Britain had fallen since the 1988 Immigration Act, which "generally
prevents a man from bringing a second or subsequent wife with him to this
country if another woman is already living as his wife in the UK".
While a married man cannot obtain a spouse visa to bring a second wife into
Britain, some multiple partners may be able to enter the country via other
legal routes such as tourist visas, student visas or work permits.
In addition, officials have identified a potential loophole by which a man
can divorce his wife under British law while continuing to live with her as
his spouse under Islamic law, and obtain a spouse visa for a foreign woman
who he can legally marry.
"Entry clearance may not be withheld from a second wife where the husband
has divorced his previous wife and the divorce is thought to be one of
convenience, " an immigration rulebook advises. "This is so, even if the
husband is still living with the previous wife and to issue the entry
clearance would lead to the formation of a polygamous household."
Chris Grayling, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said that the
decision was "completely unjustifiable" .
"You are not allowed to have multiple marriages in the UK, so to have a
situation where the benefits system is treating people in different ways is
totally unacceptable and will serve to undermine confidence in the system.
"This sets a precedent that will lead to more demands for the culture of
other countries to be reflected in UK law and the benefits system."
Mr Grayling also accused the Government of trying to keep the ruling quiet
because the topic is so controversial.