UC ID and NRPF

Full service UC area. My client has claimed UC with her partner who has NRPF. He will be removed from the claim once it is processed. He has sent his passport to the Home Office and it could be months before it is returned, he did this before UC had confirmed his identity and JC+ are refusing to process the claim.

Two questions
a) can we ask for him to be removed from the claim now without the need for ID to enable her to be paid or
b) is there another way of confirming his identity eg; through solicitor or can JC+ contact the Home Office?

Client herself has severe and enduring mental health problems and a new born baby, (hence the UC claim). She was previously ESA Support Group and receives PIP Enhanced DL, she is very vulnerable, we are attending JC+ this week to make changes to her claimant commitment and would like to ask about the ID issue at the same time.

Thanks

maybe look at highlighting to work coach that claim must be accepted as a single claim (under regulation 9 of the UC… Claims and Payments Regulations) so refusing award on partner ID issues is excessive - even if ID is still required (to establish identity to check income and capital of the partner to be added in calculation of the single claim) DWP should act reasonably if documents are not available for good reason, as he seems to have)  (see CPAG handbook p1151 on this).

UC full service guidance may help if ID is still an issue - any evidence, such as from solicitor, should not be discounted in the process
http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2017-0556/70_Identity_verification_and_standards_of_evidence_v4.0.pdf

seems a clear case where an advance payment should be awarded, particularly due to claimant vulnerabilities, pending proper investigation of partner’s ID.

Thank you, went to the appointment today,  after some debate, telephone calls and using the information from the links above JC+ agreed to accept bank account and letters from Home Office as ID, they will ask some biometric questions to confirm. The work coach then said they would need to apply the HRT and need the passport for that???

I’ve made an appointment for round two next week and hopefully they will have checked the regs and the claim can be processed.