New A2 English requirement in the family route

[Terpe]

Peter.

Is my wife affected by this with her ielts life skills at B1?

Wouldn't B1 be at a higher level?

Yes Phil B1 is a higher level.
It's hard to imagine why your wife would ever need to prove competence at the lower level A2 but until the requirement details are published later in the year it's best not to try and second guess the Home Office immigration rules on logic