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 entitlement conditions only to the claimant and partner (SSCBA 1992 s.124(1)). Another adult in the benefit unit, such as a non-dependent adult, no longer bars the claim by being over state pension age or 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)), and a partner who takes over an award makes a claim (Claims and Payments Regs 1987 reg 4(4)). That person must be under state pension age, in a prescribed category and without ESA. A partner over state pension age no longer bars a younger partner who has the 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.
+- Add the IS Regs 1987 Sch 1B para 2 prescribed category: a single claimant or lone parent with a child 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

@@ -3,8 +3,11 @@
 # IS Regs 1987 reg 4ZA(1) prescribes the persons in Schedule 1B, and Sch 1B
 # para 4 includes "A person (the carer)" regularly and substantially caring
 # for a disabled person or entitled to Carer's Allowance. 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 person's caring does not.
+# which of them claims (Claims and Payments Regs 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
   period: 2025
@@ -22,16 +25,16 @@
   output:
     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]