Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to extend the special dispensation for people arriving from Ukraine to claim benefits until the end of 2023.

In March 2022, Parliament passed The Social Security (Habitual Residence and Past Presence) (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which exempted those who were residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022, and who had fled in response to the Russian Invasion on 24 February 2022, from having to satisfy the Habitual Residence Test (HRT) and Past Presence Test (PPT). A link to the regulations can be found here -

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/344/contents/made

This meant that those individuals covered by the regulations were eligible for income-related and disability and carer benefits from day one of their arrival, subject to all other entitlement conditions being met.