Response: GOV.UK page on managing benefits
Published 23 September 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foi2024-00360-govuk-page-on-managing-benefits/response-govuk-page-on-managing-benefits
| Reference number | FOI2024-00360 |
|---|---|
| Date of request | 10 September 2024 |
| Date of response | 23 September 2024 |
| Outcome | Information disclosed |
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) received the following request for information which we responded to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA):
[Question 1] Please tell me on what date the guidance at https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/manage-your-benefit going abroad was last changed, what was changed and what was it changed to. Which regulation changed in order to bring about the change in guidance?
[Question 2] Please also tell me why the version and edition of the guidance is not published in accordance with ISO 9001 management system practice or any other applicable or relevant management system.
Our response
We can confirm that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) does hold some of the information in scope of your request. Please see answers to your questions below:
Question 1
The page titled ‘Claiming benefits if you live, move or travel abroad’ was last changed on 16 August 2024.
Under the heading ‘If you already live in an EEA country or Switzerland’ a bullet point which explained claimants must ‘have a genuine link with the UK social security system’ was changed to ‘have a genuine link with the UK’.
This change (removing the term ‘social security system’) was to bring the guidance in line with a court judgement which ruled that a claimant only needs to demonstrate a genuine and sufficient link to the UK, not the UK social security system.
Question 2
No information is held because the GOV.UK website is not required to and does not conform to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards.