The mixed age couple policy was legislated for in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and then the commencement order was that the mixed age couple policy change will come into force on 15 May 2019, which was announced on 14 January 2019. Following the announcement we are implementing comprehensive plans to raise awareness of the change among people who may be affected.<\/p>
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The Department has written directly to mixed-age couples who are already in receipt of Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for pensioners to inform them of the changes and encourage them to find out what it could mean for them. Importantly the letters explain that mixed age couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners immediately before 15 May will not be affected for as long as they remain in receipt of either benefit after that date, and that their State Pension will not be affected.<\/p>
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This is in addition to providing information on gov.uk and through existing departmental channels. The Department\u2019s staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres are able to provide help and advice about the change, as will staff in local authorities who administer Housing Benefit.<\/p>
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The Department has also worked with relevant organisations, including providing them with a fact sheet to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4142", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Guy Opperman"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hexham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Guy Opperman"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-03-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "229221"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-03-11T17:13:26.05Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-03-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pension Credit"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has written to people who will be affected by the changes to pension credit entitlement which come into force on 15 May 2019 to inform them that they will no longer be entitled to claim pension credit if their partner is not of state pension age.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4393", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart C McDonald"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Stuart C. McDonald"} ], "uin" : "229220"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055826", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055826/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Home Office has designed the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation project to replace the current asylum accommodation and support services to ensure a smooth transition of services from one Provider to another.<\/p>
The current timetable allows eight months for mobilisation and transition activities, which is similar to the time that such activity took when the current contracts came into operation.<\/p>
The transition governance structure means that we are now working closely with local authorities and other statutory partners to ensure a smooth transition. Regional Transition leads are working to ensure that their regional plans are co-ordinated on a local basis with strategic stakeholders to manage risks and to ensure effective contingency measures are in place to minimise impacts to all Service Users.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-03-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-03-15T12:45:39.543Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Contracts"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the transition from the asylum accommodation COMPASS contracts to the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation contracts, whether transition, risk management and contingency plans have been shared with local authorities in participating asylum dispersal areas.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4393", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart C McDonald"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Stuart C. McDonald"} ], "uin" : "217596"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055900", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055900/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Where evidence comes to light that would suggest a supported asylum ap-plicant has access to alternative accommodation and support, we would invite the applicant to give an account of their activity.<\/p>
Evidence can come from a number of sources, including Aspen usage data. Suspension and any subsequent discontinuation of support due to a breach of conditions carries a right of appeal. Data is not held in a publishable format.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-21T16:45:37.927Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have had their asylum support (a) suspended and (b) discontinued as a result of information obtained by the monitoring of the usage of an Aspen card.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4393", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart C McDonald"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Stuart C. McDonald"} ], "uin" : "217613"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }