The Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, has responded to a series of questions regarding the managed migration process for 2.6 million legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit (UC), to be completed by the end of 2024.
Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee wrote to the DWP boss in April highlighting a series of concerns ahead of the managed migration rollout which restarted on May 9.
The eight questions included asking for a guarantee that current claims would not be stopped until payments for Universal Credit were established and what additional support measures or reasonable adjustments are being made for people with a disability during the managed migration process.
Dr Coffey responded last month, but before directly addressing points raised in the letter, she wrote: “As the published impact analyses have shown, UC is more generous than the system it is replacing (and indeed this version of UC is more generous than the one debated in 2018-19). We estimate 55% of claimants will be better off on UC, yet only one in ten existing legacy claimants believe they will be better off on UC.”
Here are a few of the questions asked by Mr Timms and the Committee, the full letter can be read online here.
Question: “Is the Department taking steps to ensure no one subject to managed migration will have their existing benefit stopped until they have established a Universal Credit claim and, if so, what are they?”
This included:
- If a claimant receives their migration notice, but does not apply for Universal Credit within the three-month period, how will the Department proceed? What safeguarding concerns have you identified?
- Will the Department record the number of people who do not apply for Universal Credit in the three months following their migration notice and have their benefits stopped? Could this be shared with the Committee?
Dr Coffey responded: “I expect our system will be effective to ensure it provides a smooth transition from existing legacy benefits to UC. There will be a wide range of support available, and the Discovery Phase will enable us to learn how best to support new claimants to universal credit.”
She then highlighted available support, which includes:
- A dedicated phoneline, delivered by a dedicated Service Centre which has been overstaffed compared to typical Service Centres to provide more intensive support
- Guidance on GOV.UK which will also signpost to further independent support from Citizens Advice Help to Claim service
- Specially trained staff in JobCentre Plus and service centres
The rollout is currently limited to 500 people in Medway and Bolton.
Dr Coffey continued: “For the first groups of claimants in this initial phase of discovery, I have decided the department will not terminate any benefits if the claimant fails to claim within the three-month period given.
“Instead, if these claimants have failed to engage with the department, DWP will make a minimum of a one-month extension to the deadline outlined in their notice. In this time, we will undertake proactive engagement with the claimant to understand why they have not claimed.”
Dr Coffey added: “It is important to remember that the discovery phase is a learning process, and our clear priority is to maximise the number of claimants completing their claim. We do of course recognise that not all claimants may want to claim Universal Credit and others will need support to do so.”
Another question asked: “What steps will the Department take to identify people who will need more support or reasonable adjustments for their disability during managed migration from legacy benefits to Universal Credit?”
“As part of our learning during the Discovery Phase, we are keen to understand what additional support is required for people to make their claim to UC and what this means for the scaled-up process,” the DWP Minister replied and referred Mr Timms to her previous response.
However, she added: “We will also be excluding some particularly vulnerable and/or complex groups from the managed migration process initially, including claimants who are terminally ill.”
Something many legacy benefit claimants are concerned at are the DWP estimated calculations which indicate that around 900,000 people on older benefits will be worse off on Universal Credit.
The Committee asked: “What work has the Department undertaken to communicate with households who will have a lower entitlement under Universal Credit or those who will leave benefits altogether?
Ms Coffey wrote: “Everyone notified to move to UC will have their entitlement assessed against their current claims for legacy benefits and tax credits.
“Until such point that they move to UC, we will not know their entitlement and whether or not they will be better off.”
She added: “Our overarching analysis does however show that at the point of migration, the vast majority will either be better off, or retain the same entitlement, thanks to transitional protection.
“How we support and communicate with the small groups who are not in this situation will form part of our learning process.”
Mr Timms also invited Dr Coffey, or the Minister for Welfare Delivery, to meet with the Committee to discuss the process of restarting managed migration before amending the UC Transitional Provisions Regulations and she agreed.
You can read the full list of questions and responses here.
Legacy benefits moving to Universal Credit
- Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
Everyone moving over from legacy benefits will have their entitlement to Universal Credit assessed against their current claims, with top up payments available for eligible claimants whose entitlement would have been reduced because of the change - ensuring they receive the same entitlement as on a legacy system.
These will continue unless their circumstances change.
Migration process from legacy benefits to Universal Credit
There are three ways people can migrate to Universal Credit, outlined in the DWP’s ‘2022-24 strategy for implementing the final phase of Universal Credit’ - you can read it in full on the GOV.UK website, here.
These are:
- Natural migration - a change of circumstances triggers a move
- Voluntary migration - claimants chooses to move
- Managed migration - DWP triggered
The DWP explains: “Of the 2.6 million households remaining on legacy benefits in April 2022, should they choose to claim UC today, we estimate around 1.4 million (55%) would have a higher entitlement on UC, 300,000 would see no change and approximately 900,000 households (35%) would have a lower entitlement.”
The DWP also estimates that of the 900,000 households who would essentially be worse off moving to Universal Credit, around 600,000 would receive transitional protection through the managed migration process, while others will “either leave benefits, migrate naturally before DWP asks them to move or receive a severe disability transitional payment”.
You can read the full guide to the DWP's managed migration to Universal Credit on the GOV.UK website, here.
Which groups are expected to be better or worse off on Universal Credit?
The DWP estimates ESA claimants who are in the support group but who do not get the Severe Disability Payment to be better off on Universal Credit.
Households who get ESA and receive the Severe Disability Premium and the enhanced disability premium, are expected to be worse off.
More details about which groups could receive a higher or lower entitlement on Universal Credit can be found here.
DWP estimates on who will receive higher or lower entitlements or see no change to the amount of benefit they receive are summarised below.
Higher entitlement after moving to Universal Credit
- ESA claimants: 600,000
- Tax Credits (Working and Child) claimants: 700,000
- Total, including other legacy benefits: 1.4 million
Lower entitlement after moving to Universal Credit
- ESA claimants: 500,000
- Tax Credits (Working and Child) claimants: 300,000
- Total, including other legacy benefits: 900,000
No change after moving to Universal Credit
- ESA claimants: 100,000
- Income Support: 100,000
- Total, including other legacy benefits: 300,000
Transitional protection
The DWP said that around 400,000 ESA and 100,000 Tax Credits claimants will receive transitional protection, which means they should not see any reduction in their benefits when they transfer.
However, the value of this protection will be eroded every year because, with the exception of the childcare element, any annual increase in Universal Credit will be deducted from the transitional protection.
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