Hi, am looking for clarification or expansion following p.1324 of CPAG 07/08. Para starts "Some people coming from abroad with limited leave & subject to a public funds prohibition are nevertheless allowed to claim benefits and tax credits if the meet certain conditions..."
Footnote is para 6B Immigration Rules HC 395.

Does anyone have a copy or link to this, or other useful info?
Haven't found anything useful yet via Google.

(Circs: Client is Nigerian national on 4yr working visa. Diagnosed with terminal cancer since he arrived here. Treatment not available in home country. Forcing himself to work p/t despite illness so he & family have something to live on. Threatened with eviction as they can't meet the rent. Trying to find out if there's anything available to them apart from charity applications.)

Thanks very much.

whilst para 6B is more to do with the immigration consequences of accessing benefits .... as opposed to whether the individual is entitled to benefit in the first place .... here it is -

'6B. A person shall not be regarded as having recourse to public funds if he is a person who is not excluded from specified benefits under section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 by virtue of regulations made under sub-sections (3) and (4) of that section or section 42 of the Tax Credits Act 2002.'

Thanks!

Suppose I should at least have a look at these other regs, then.

But there probably isn't anything this client can claim int he way of benefits, is there?

Don't suppose he's managed to acquire sufficient NI contributions to claim incapacity benefit, which isn't public funds?

This is a very good point which I should have thought of earlier - thanks. He may well have the contributions, because he has been in the UK for about 2 or 3 years.

Your client should also be entitled to accommodation and support form Social Services under the National Assistance Act if he has nothing else. This is because he is destitute for reasons other than just his immigration status. They should consider him as part of the family unit if they are all dependant on him and provide the housing and support with them but Social Services may question whether the other family members can support instead. Also this will be fine while your client is alive but the family needs to consider their position after his death. Unless any of them are sick too - Social Services will have no duty to them and will have to inform the Home Office that they have provided support to them. Social Services sometimes insist too that the client actively makes immigration applications to try and make their situation more secure e.g humanitarian leave to remain. In my experience - the client has died long before the application is heard though

Thanks, yes, I understand that the social worker is already looking into the accommodation issue. But as you say, this is complicated: in this case by the fact that the wife has a work permit specific to one employer, who dismissed her. She has been referred for help in finding out if she can get a general work permit, which she's said she would like.