UC and ESOL, rights of migrant workers under UC

I am posting this as a query from another organsistaion - a query to which I have no answers at all.

Can anyone who has some knowledge of the provide a response here, or give me some directions?

The query is:

I have been trying to ascertain what rules apply under Universal Credit to people assessed as needing ESOL support.

I gather that claimants whose English skills appear to be an obstacle to finding employment will be mandated to attend (free) ESOL classes up to a certain level, as is already the case with JSA and ESA (WRAG).

However, what is not clear is what the position will be for any partner, if the claimant is claiming for a couple or family. Presumably, as the partner will in most cases have some degree of conditionality placed on her/him (the level depending on whether the are nominated as a “lead parent” and the age of the youngest child if any), then that partner will also be subject to mandatory ESOL and to provision of free classes.

Do we know if this is correct? If so, will the partner nominated as “lead parent” have to wait until the youngest child is two before they can be mandated to ESOL and eligible for free classes (and if so, what about single parents affected by the benefit cap from the moment their child is born?).

And also, will they cease to be eligible if their partner finds work which brings them as a couple over the earnings threshold, which would mean that they no longer had any conditions placed on them even though they themselves were still unemployed and the household may still be in receipt of a UC top-up?

The other question I would want to get clear about is how it affects a parent’s (single or couple) UC if one or more of their children is a student in HE. I understand that under the legacy system a young person in a full-time course which started before they were 21 is eligible for Income Support, which presumably means they are assessed separately as a non-dependant adult; and that for students older than this they are only eligible for benefits (JSA or ESA) if their course is no more than 16 hours per week.

But at what age or in what circumstances does the young person cease to be part of the household and become a non-dependant adult (meaning that a deduction is made from the benefits of her/his parents as he/she is meant to make a contribution? And in the case that a young person is still considered part of the household but has been mandated by the jobcentre to do a course (including ESOL) as part of their work preparation, what happens to the UC income of the family if the young person fails to attend or meet course requirements (ie if they get “sanctioned”).

It would be great if this could be set out somewhere for people to refer to who are involved in voluntary advice work and/or campaigning on benefits (and indeed on FE provision and access) - and also as some branches are actually involved in providing free ESOL classes and need to understand the student’s benefit situation.
various websites, but the situations I have described above seem especially difficult to find information about.

In general terms, I am asking for clarification of rules/practices under UC for claimants who may have ESOL needs, in the following circumstances:
• If they are single and childless - including what happens if they are classed as a dependent within a claimant household, ie would they still be mandated to ESOL and eligible for free classes, and what happens if they fail to attend/complete course requirements
• if they are in a couple and are a lead parent: which conditionality bands would see them mandated/entitled to ESOL (ie based on age of child) and would this still apply in the case that the other parent (or the parents jointly) gained employment which took them over their earnings threshold as a couple, but still left them eligible for UC top-ups?
• what, in any case, is the earnings threshold for a couple, and does this vary according to the age of any child/youngest child? I have found this basic info hard to establish from my reading of the various advice websites.
I am also asking for clarification of the situation of households where a young person not in full-time education is classed as still a dependent (part of the household) -
• is it the case that some young people are attending college courses primarily under pressure from their parents because if they do not attend or meet course requirements the household UC will be sanctioned?
• and does attendance at a college course or apprenticeship affect the age at which a young person ceases to be part of the household claim and instead becomes a non-dependent adult (ie in comparison to if they were either not working/studying or if they were in waged employment)?

In general, I have also been able to ascertain very little about the rights of migrant workers under UC. The CAB website gives details of right-to—reside requirements but does not actually describe what benefits people are or are not eligible for in different circumstances. I would like to gather this information into a flyer specifically for people and families who are not uk citizens or settled.

The person who asked initially has found answers here - http://www.housingsystems.co.uk/Universal-Credit

It is a subscription site but I’m told the info is useful.