§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000 affect access to benefits for sponsored immigrants whose sponsors have died. [142858]
§ Mr. BayleyThere is no change to the policy that access to benefits should be available to a sponsored person where the person who undertook to support him has died. A technical defect in the amendments made by the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000 places an unintended restriction of six weeks on the period for which Income Support is available. We intend to bring forward amending regulations to correct the defect. In the meantime, extra-statutory payments will be made to any affected cases that do arise to ensure that the policy intention is met.