§ Ms CoffeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if the easement which enables women who have been deserted by their partners and who make an application for income support after 1 October to have their housing costs treated as existing housing costs, will include women who have been subjected to domestic violence and have taken legal action to exclude their partner from the house; [2787]
(2) how he will establish that adjudication officers in judging that a woman who had been the victim of domestic violence and had taken legal action to exclude her partner from the house, had been abandoned, had interpreted statute law correctly. [2788]
§ Mr. Roger EvansOur intention is that this easement should apply to any lone parent who claims income support as a result of being deserted by his or her partner. This should not preclude a claimant in the circumstances644W outlined in the question from benefiting from it. However, decisions on the application of the income support regulations to individual claims are taken by the independent adjudicating authorities after applying the regulations to the circumstances of the individual case. The operation of all aspects of the new rules on income support help with mortgage interest payments, including this easement, will be kept under review.