Apply the Income Support conditions to the claimant and partner only

changelog.d/is-eligibility-claimant-partner-gates.fixed.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+- Apply the Income Support ESA and existing-award conditions only to the claimant and partner (SSCBA 1992 s.124(1)). Another member of the benefit unit who is neither the claimant nor the partner (a non-dependent adult or a dependent young person) no longer bars the claim by having income-related ESA, and no longer counts as having an existing Income Support award.
+- Treat the claimant or partner who reports the existing Income Support award as the claimant. No new claim can be made (UC (Transitional Provisions) Regs 2014 reg 6A(1), from 25 July 2022; the model applies this in every year), and a partner who takes over an award makes a claim (Claims and Payments Regs 1987 reg 4(4)). That person must be under the qualifying age for State Pension Credit, in a prescribed category and without ESA, so a partner who cares can no longer take over the other partner's award.
+- Bar Income Support when the claimant is entitled to contributory ESA (s.124(1)(h)). Income-related ESA of the claimant or partner still bars it. An `esa_income` that the reported awards do not explain (one entered directly, or set by a reform) is taken to be theirs. An amount within half a penny of zero is no award, so a float residual no longer bars the claim.
+- Add the IS Regs 1987 Sch 1B para 2 prescribed category: a single claimant or lone parent with a child under 16 placed by a local authority (proxied by `is_looked_after_by_local_authority`).
+- Leave a child placed by a local authority out of `youngest_child_age_for_legacy_benefits`; such a child is not a member of the claimant's household (IS Regs 1987 reg 16(4)).

policyengine_uk/tests/policy/baseline/finance/benefit/family/income_support/income_support_carer_route.yaml

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 # disability benefit, with no Carer's Allowance claim needed, or (b) "is both
 # entitled to, and in receipt of, a carer's allowance or carer support
 # payment". A couple choose which of them claims (Claims and Payments Regs
-# 1987 reg 4(3)), so either partner's caring qualifies; a child's or young
+# 1987 reg 4(3)), but no new claim can be made (UC (Transitional Provisions)
+# Regs 2014 reg 6A(1)) and a partner who takes over an award does so by
+# claiming (reg 4(4)), so the claimant is whichever partner has the existing
+# award. The route opens through that partner's caring; a child's or young
 # person's caring does not.
 
 - name: IS carer route for a single claimant who cares
@@ -44,16 +47,16 @@
     is_carer_for_benefits: true
     income_support_eligible: true
 
-- name: IS carer route when the partner is the carer
+- name: IS carer route when the partner who has the award is the carer
   period: 2025
   input:
     people:
       claimant:
         age: 40
-        income_support_reported: 1000
       partner:
         age: 38
         receives_carer_benefit: true
+        income_support_reported: 1000
     benunits:
       family:
         members: [claimant, partner]