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.
This briefing, produced by CPAG in association with Age UK and RNIB, focuses on two new mandatory reconsideration policies introduced in 2022 and 2023 which put access to justice for particular groups of claimants at risk.
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.
Universal credit (UC) is higher if you get it alongside certain other benefits, often called relevant benefits. If you get UC and your child qualifies for disability living allowance (DLA), you’re usually entitled to a UC ‘disabled child element’. Unfortunately, these extra UC amounts are not paid automatically when the relevant benefit is awarded, and the onus is placed on claimants to notify the DWP that they are entitled to these additional elements. Evidence collected by CPAG suggests that families are missing out on much-needed financial support as a result of this failure to share information within the DWP. Research on UC conducted by CPAG in 2023 explained the impact this had on carers. This follow-up briefing focuses specifically on the impact for parents of disabled children.
Universal credit (UC) claimants are not always getting extra amounts of UC they’re entitled to when they become eligible for some other benefits because of poor data-sharing within the DWP.
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.
CPAG in Scotland’s Early Warning System has been operating for ten years! Over Challenge Poverty Week we are looking back at some of the social security events in this period, key findings from the Early Warning System and how they have influenced policy and practise. Today we are looking back at universal credit and how Early Warning System evidence can influence its future.
CPAG in Scotland’s Early Warning System has been operating for ten years! Over Challenge Poverty Week we are looking back at some of the social security events in this period, key findings from the Early Warning System and how they have influenced policy and practise.
CPAG in Scotland’s Early Warning System has been operating for ten years! Over Challenge Poverty Week we will look back at some of the social security events in this period, key findings from the Early Warning System and how they have influenced policy and practise. Looking ahead we will identify how Early Warning System evidence and analysis can inform the future shape of social security at UK, Scotland and local level.
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.