Thousands of families face missing out on £10,000 in bereavement benefits amid the coronavirus as ministers drag their feet over vital reforms.
It’s two months since the High Court defeated rules which stop Bereavement Support Payment going to unmarried couples with children.
A top judge said the scheme was "incompatible" with human rights law, because it discriminates against children whose parents didn't tie the knot.
But it's thought the government only confirmed it would not appeal last week. And campaigners are still waiting for changes to be announced - despite the row rumbling on for years.
Simon Jones of terminal illness care charity Marie Curie urged the government to "end this discrimination" using emergency powers to help people who lose loved ones to Covid-19.
He said: "Grieving families are no more or less deserving of bereavement support simply because of their marital status.”
Spouses or civil partners who lose their partner before pension age can claim a Bereavement Support Payment.
Introduced in 2017, it is worth up to £3,500, plus £350 a month for 18 months.
But couples must be married or in a civil partnership to qualify.
If it was extended to ‘cohabiting’ unmarried parents, estimates suggest it could help around 2,200 cohabiting couples with children each year - plus more childless cohabiting couples, who would have got the lower rate if they were married.
Laura Rudd, a 34-year-old teacher from York, lost her 50-year-old partner Nigel in February to a heart attack while out on a run.
Laura, has been left caring for their son Noah, 2, after she and Nigel were together for nine years but chose not to wed.
More than 100,000 people have signed her petition calling on the government to act.
She told the Mirror: "It's just incredulous to be in this situation in this day and age.
"I had to register as a person organising his funeral, rather than his partner of nine years and mother of his child.
"This affects people regardless of coronavirus - but it's not helping. People can't go out to get married. This needs to be fixed."
The Supreme Court reached a similar ruling against the old system of bereavement payments nearly two years ago.
Yet despite pleas from campaigners and MPs, the DWP has still not changed the system.
Alison Penny, Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network, said: "For the sake of all the children and families who will face the devastating loss of a mum or dad in the coming weeks, months and years, we urge the government to amend the rules as quickly as possible."
Louisa McGeehan of the Child Poverty Action Group, which helped fight the High Court case, said: “The government must now act on the court’s decisions and make things right for thousands of families - especially at such a difficult time.”
A top judge in February said refusing to give unmarried couples bereavement benefits discriminates against their children, just because their mum and dad failed to tie the knot.
In a damning judgement, Mr Justice Holman said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reasoning was "wholly unconvincing" and the scheme was "incompatible" with human rights law.
He added: "The child cannot make the choice between marriage and cohabitation."
A DWP spokesman said: “Losing a loved one is devastating and we are actively considering the position following the Jackson judgment, which we are not seeking to appeal.”
