Husband now HAS recourse to public funds. Impact on wife’s ESA?

Client is receiving IB ESA and CTC
Her husband previously had no recourse to public funds.
They have been living together as a couple with children for years
He is included on client’s ESA claim, but she is being paid single person allowance only (due to his previous NRPF status).
He has zero income
He now has recourse to public funds

What will happen when she informs ESA that husband now has recourse to public funds?
Will this change of circumstances act as a trigger for migration to UC? (as it would if a partner simply moved in with a claimant)
Will this affect her CTC ? (as it would if a partner simply moved in with a claimant). (HMRC are already aware of him)

I suspect that the ESA claim would continue, with the couple allowance replacing the single person allowance. Can you confirm? Can you point me to somewhere authoritative where this is written?

I also assume that CTC will be unaffected. Is that right?

Thanks in advance.

First some general comments about new partners and UC “triggers”.

The only reason why a partner moving in would prompt someone to claim UC would be if one of them previously had a single claim for Tax Credits, and they are not realistically able to soldier on with nothing to replace their Tax Credits.  This is because an existing Tax Credit award automatically terminates if there is a change of couple status.

Any other legacy means tested benefit, including ESA, does not necessarily end just because the claimant has acquired a partner.  The benefit is reassessed at the couple rate based on both partners’ income.  They don’t have to claim UC unless they want to.

Now, applying this to your case.  ESA can now include a couple-rate applicable amount.  As for Tax Credits, luckily this does not count as formation of a couple and it doesn’t terminate the existing Tax Credit award.  They should have a couple’s Tax Credit award already.  See Reg 3(2) of the Tax Credits (Immigration) Regs 2003 here: https://revenuebenefits.org.uk/pdf/si/653-03.pdf.

In summary, the only thing I would expect to change here is that ESA will increase by the difference between the single and couple personal allowances.

Many thanks, HB Anorak. I’m very encouraged.

My remaining fear is that ESA might respond with the line that has been used too often: “You’ve had a change of circumstances. So you can no longer get ESA. You have to claim UC”.

I would like to be ready to quote chapter and verse if that should arise.

Maybe I’m being paranoid, but so much depends on it.

PeterCAS - 13 July 2023 01:09 PM

I would like to be ready to quote chapter and verse if that should arise.

There is no chapter and verse, but that is precisely the point.

The existence of Universal Credit doesn’t change ordinary benefit administration except where express provision is made to that effect.

As ever with these UC “trigger” threads, there isn’t anything that positively says “ESA will continue if the claimant acquires a partner without any income”.  There just isn’t anything to say it won’t.

ESA(ir) terminates if:
- the claimant makes a claim for UC, or
- the claimant forms a couple with someone who is already on UC, or
- there is a change of circumstance that would always have caused ESA(ir) to end, back in the pre-UC days, such as being appointed CEO of a multinational corporation or winning the lottery, or being found fit for work.  Those good old-fashioned reasons for ESA(ir) terminating of course include acquiring a partner who works >=24 hours or has enough income to float the couple off ESA(ir) ...  but that isn’t the case here.