§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will put in place arrangements for the payment of emergency benefits to the spouse and children of refugees, pending the confirmation of their status by the Immigration and Nationality Department. [HL1658]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)We have no plans to make specific arrangements for such cases. Our aim is to prevent fraud and error getting into the system rather than detecting it after benefit has been put into payment. This can involve asking the customer to provide documentation to establish their or their dependants immigration status and confirm their identity.