Clause 58
Welfare Reform Bill
9:30 am
Jim Murphy (Minister of State (Work), Department for Work and Pensions; East Renfrewshire, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman fairly draws the Committee’s attention to the work undertaken by the hon. Member for Rochdale on this issue, along with many others in that part of the country.
Untypically, the hon. Gentleman has not fully grasped the specific detail of what we are seeking to do, although not for any unreasonable purpose—he is not seeking to misconstrue the clause. I shall make a couple of comments about his request.
Clause 58 amends the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979, to which I have already referred, so that civil partners, children of civil partners, a person who is living with a sufferer as if they were a civil partner and a person who is living with a sufferer as if they were husband and wife are included within the meaning of “dependant”. The clause makes the 1979 Act compatible with the Civil Partnerships Act 2004, which came into force in December 2005, and was largely unforeseen when the 1979 Act was passed. [Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley, from a sedentary position, celebrates the passing of the Civil Partnerships Act.