The question of whether the claimant was in reality a member of
a couple is not just relevant to the date at which the claim
commenced. Becoming or ceasing to be a member of a couple is a
notifiable change of circumstances so it is also relevant at all
other times during the year.
You will sometimes have evidence that places the suspected
partner at the claimant’s address at one or more dates during
the year for example a series of letters signed by the partner to
his/her employer or tax office. However, you may not be able to
point to anything which strongly indicates their presence at the
beginning of the year or claim period.
When challenged about the existence of a partner, claimants
may be reluctant to admit to their failure to declare the partner
on the claim, claiming instead that s/he only moved in some time
later.
You will need to use your judgement in these cases. As a
general rule if you are confident the evidence you have is
reasonable proof that the claimant was a member of a couple from
the date the claim commenced, you should put that date forward to
the claimant. If you feel there is some doubt around that date, or
you would have difficulty in substantiating it, but you are
convinced that the claimant was a member of a couple at some point
during the year, you should propose to the claimant an appropriate
date from which they should be treated as a member of a couple. You
should be prepared to negotiate the date with the claimant bearing
in mind the important factor of getting the claim on the right
basis for the future. However, you must remember that your decision
may have to be defended before an appeal tribunal so you must have
evidence to support the proposal.
