I have a couple who have just married - so ending her entitlement to IS as a lone parent. Her father gets AA so she is thinking of claiming CA and getting IS rate via that route.
What is complicating things is that her partner has only just been given recourse to public funds. He is very ill with epilepsy and so I would think they would be entitled to claim ESA as a couple instead but she is not keen to do this even though they would be better off with the work related activity component added on to the carers premium.
But - do they really have a choice in the matter? Can they still claim IS as a couple even though only one of them is a carer and the other is sick but not claiming ESA? I'm sure the rules about couples on IS have changed recently but haven't been able to find anything.

Thanks.