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.

 

 

Source: Sunday Telegraph

 

Multiple wives???!!??!?!?!? What about multiple husbands???!

oh lord..... how idiotic can these people get?... could i convert to islam and take several wives and claim benefit on all of them?....

 

we need some egotistical loudmouth who doesnt give a $h!t to sort this cuntry out (that spelling was deliberate)...... jeremy kyle for prime minister!

 

Whatever happened to quality control? Most western countries have enough native born bludging bums without IMPORTING more.

We've been paying benefits to members of polygamous marriages for years and years. For benefits such as Income Support, wifey number One is classed as the 'partner' and added to the man's benefit claim. Wifey no 2, 3 etc is paid as a single person add on. It's been this way for over 20 years. I'm not quite sure what has changed here (if anything) :unsure:

 

Maybe they just mean they've carried out a review and decided not to change the current benefit rules?

The thing is I was talking to a colleague who is a Muslim only the other day about this, and they(he) can only have more than one wife if they pay for it, that means everything! So if they want more than one wife let them pay for it, no benifits no nothing! We shouldn't have to pay for them to have more than one wife, that's what they chose so let them pay for it out of their own pocket!

 

Surely this will just make the country more desirable to foreigners?

 

Let's make that language barrier even greater and import more foreigners to wreck the country :D

And again we have all this focus on Muslims, again painting them out in a totally negative light.... It really is p***ing me off by its stunning predictability... Like Islam is the ONLY religion in the world that allows polygamous relationships.... Er, MORMONS anyone????? This initiative would surely unfairly benefit them also, or do they not get a negative mention because they're vaguely "Christians"..... -_-

 

Anyone ever seen the show "Big Love" out there...? Mormonism is one FUKKED UP religion folks, almost as fukked up as Scientology....

Scott...

 

official figures show there are currently (officially) 1.6 million Muslims in the UK.

 

There are, however, just 180,000 Mormons.....

There are, however, just 180,000 Mormons.....

 

Well, what difference does that make, really..? Is it not more the principle of this that is objectionable (at least it should be seen in those terms..), the actual numbers dont mean squat to me, the actual principle is the important issue here, not just counting heads.... I'll be honest, 180,000 is actually more Mormons than I thought there was, which makes the potential for abuse of the system bigger than I thought....

 

I'm objecting more to the fact that, as per usual, the Right Wing press chooses to focus entirely on Muslims and not even mention Mormonism which has more or less exactly the same ideology towards polygamy, if they'd said "Muslims and Mormons" in their article, then fair enough, but they haven't which is what I object to....

 

If Muslims benefit unfairly, so do Mormons.. THAT is the principle I object to, not who has the bigger numbers....

Well, what difference does that make, really..? Is it not more the principle of this that is objectionable (at least it should be seen in those terms..), the actual numbers dont mean squat to me, the actual principle is the important issue here, not just counting heads.... I'll be honest, 180,000 is actually more Mormons than I thought there was, which makes the potential for abuse of the system bigger than I thought....

 

I'm objecting more to the fact that, as per usual, the Right Wing press chooses to focus entirely on Muslims and not even mention Mormonism which has more or less exactly the same ideology towards polygamy, if they'd said "Muslims and Mormons" in their article, then fair enough, but they haven't which is what I object to....

 

If Muslims benefit unfairly, so do Mormons.. THAT is the principle I object to, not who has the bigger numbers....

 

you are right scott.... NO ONE should get extra benefits if they have more then 1 wife, muslim, mormon.. whoever...

 

but it IS a fact that there are more muslim claimants then mormon!