Since our last report was published, the DWP has brought forward the managed migration of 800,000 employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants who do not get tax credits, which had been delayed until 2028.
The proportion of tax credit claimants not moving to universal credit (UC) when required to – and losing all of their benefits as a result – has jumped to 39%, up from 25% in July, DWP figures published today show. That’s more than 180,000 people whose ‘legacy benefit’ claim has been terminated without safely making the move to UC.
Court of Appeal upholds decision that universal credit payments can be backdated on revision, but claimants risk still being thwarted by DWP IT design flaws and those subject to managed migration face ‘double whammy’ loss of transitional protections and backdated payments.
Managed migration to universal credit is about to expand to DWP legacy benefit claimants. The stakes are high, and we're calling for the DWP to slow down and put more safeguards in place.
Our interviews show that claimants did not have the information they needed or wanted to understand how moving to UC would affect them. Such misinformation and misunderstanding are likely to be reasons some people are not moving to UC despite having a strong financial incentive to do so.
Two-thirds of people sent a migration notice between November 2022 and March 2023 made a successful UC claim before their migration deadline. A further 5 per cent made a claim after their deadline had passed. And 28 per cent did not claim UC at all and had their legacy benefit payments terminated. We are concerned that a sizeable minority of claimants are falling through the gaps.
The DWP’s research during the discovery phase of managed migration to universal credit (UC) concluded that ‘on the whole households are able to make the move to UC.’ But we are finding that, when issues do arise, the consequences can be serious for claimants causing stress, budgeting difficulties and debt.
This briefing draws on our research with schools and families in London and makes suggestions for how schools can remove some of the barriers faced by secondary pupils in receipt of free shcool meals, and those in low-income families who do not currently qualify.
Parents typically need to find at least £39 per week for a child’s secondary school education and £19 for a primary-aged child, research for Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) finds.