Benefits Rise as Ministers Recognise
Polygamy
standard.uk.co
05.02.08
This
same thing is being debating in
Husbands living in a "harem"
with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their
different partners.
A Muslim man with four spouses - which
is permitted under Islamic law - could receive £10,000 a year in income support
alone.
He could also be entitled to more
generous housing and council tax benefit, to reflect
the fact his household needs a bigger property.
Extra benefits: Muslim men with multiple
wives can claim more for income support
Ministers have decided that, even
though bigamy is a crime in
The outcome will
chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife.
Ministers estimate that up to a
thousand polygamous partnerships exist in
Potentially, the benefits bill for
income support could reach £10m.
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
(£92.80).
"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.
Chris Grayling, the shadow work and
pensions secretary, said that the decision was "completely
unjustifiable".
He added: "You are not allowed to
have multiple marriages in the
"This sets a precedent that will
lead to more demands for the culture of other countries to be reflected in
Mr Grayling also accused the Government
of trying to keep the ruling quiet because the topic is so controversial.
Corin Taylor, research director for the Taxpayers'
"Polygamy is not something which
British law allows and therefore British taxpayers should not have to pay for
extra benefits for second or third wives.
"If other countries sanction
polygamy that is fine but the British taxpayer should not have to fund
it."
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. But 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
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.
The DWP believes the number of people
in polygamous marriages entering
But, while a married man cannot obtain
a spouse visa to bring a second wife into
Officials have also 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.
Immigration rules say 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.
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.
Muslim couples are only married in the
eyes of the British state if they undergo a register office wedding as well as
a Nikah, or religious ceremony.
Muslim groups say it is quite common
for men here to undergo more than one Nikah with
different wives. This does not count as bigamy since only the first marriage is
legally recognised.
A DWP spokesman said: 'There are fewer
than 1,000 polygamous marriages in the
"We recently reviewed the rules
regarding benefit payments to customers in a polygamous marriage, which
conclude that the rules in place since 1987 provide the necessary safeguards to
ensure there is no financial advantage for claimants in a valid polygamous
marriage."