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<p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Income-related Employment and Support
Allowance and Universal Credit are means-tested welfare support. It is longstanding
policy that income-related benefits treat all couples as a single household unit when
assessing benefit entitlement. Where claimants have income available to meet their
household's everyday living costs, such as through a partner's earnings or savings,
their entitlement to benefit is adjusted accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>These benefits
are not paid to claimants who have sufficient income available from other sources
to support themselves. The general principle is that income, other than earnings,
which is provided to meet everyday living costs, is fully taken into account in the
calculation. The Government understands disabled people may face additional cost,
which is why income provided to meet additional costs through benefits such as Personal
Independence Payments and Disability Living Allowance are not taken into account when
determining entitlement to benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has brought forward
a Green Paper on health and disability support, focusing on the welfare system. The
Green Paper will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled
people and people with health conditions now and in the future, to build a system
that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible.</p>
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