Suspension of wifes income support benefit after marriage

[sorock11]

Hi all,

Please I need to clarify this issue with income support for my wife, she is british and am on a spouse visa as her partner. After recieving my spouse visa in March. My wife got a letter from her council saying her income support is suspended until she attends an interview next week. the letter says her circumstances have changed.

I personally resigned from my work last march and will start full time employment in June. Does it have to do with me not working at the moment. Please can some one advise me how she can go about this to have her payments reinstated. As she is due for our first baby come May ending . Thanks

[John]

Sorry, don't understand. Councils do not administer Income Support.

Please clarify.

[sorock11]

Hi John

Thanks for your reply, please which department is responsible for this and how is the best route to go through this.

Have You ever come across such case on this forum ? I have searching the internet forums for a similar topic. thanks

[Greenie]

they do sometimes suspend benefits when there is a change of circumstances. Your wife will need to provide details of your income/capital. However John is of course correct that the council do not deal with income support, this is the job of DWP. Are you sure it's the income support that has been suspended and not her housing benefit?

[sorock11]

yes definetly income support. Well I await her interview on tuesday with them . thanks for your reply .

[Greenie]

she should seek advice from a benefits advisor, for example at her local CAB.

Why was she receiving income support and not JSA? Does she care for a child for example?

[sorock11]

Yes she cares for a child, from her ex. She gets child benefits and income support

[John]

By "child benefits" I presume you mean Child Benefit and also Tax Credits.

As regards Tax Credits, since you moved in, has she contacted the Tax Credits office and told them that you have moved in? If not she needs to do that without delay.

The point in this. Whilst it was totally OK for her to make a sole claim before you moved in, as soon as you moved in the Tax Credits claim must be put into the joint names of the two of you. For the Tax Credits claim to remain in her sole name could amount to benefit fraud, and obviously the two of you want to avoid that.

Child Benefit? No problem that remaining in her sole name.

Have you got a National Insurance number? If not you need to contact your local Job Centre+ office and make arrangements to apply for a NI number.

[Greenie]

Yes she cares for a child, from her ex. She gets child benefits and income support

I imagine she would have got income support as a lone parent - as she is no longer a lone parent she is no longer entitled to income support on this basis - they will have to reasses her entitlement.Note if she gets housing benefit then the council may be notified that her income support has been stopped and may reasses her HB. She may still be entitled to IS but on a different basis - e.g. because is too heavily pregnant to work. If possible she needs to seek advice before she attends the interview. She must make sure she declares the fact that you have no recourse to public funds so that they don't give her the couples rate of income support.

Note that once you start work she will have to delare this income and if it is over the income support rate for a couple she will probably lose this benefit, however depending on your income you may be entitled to claim working tax credit as a couple in addition to child tax credit.

See benefits advice guide