The ‘managed migration’ of claimants to welfare benefit Universal Credit is set to restart this month. This short article gives you an easy explanation of what you need to know to make sure the people who need your help get the information they need.
First, a bit of background …
When Universal Credit (UC) was introduced in 2013 a programme of ‘managed migration’ was introduced. In essence this meant that, as well as new claimants automatically being assessed for UC, existing claimants across a range of other benefits would gradually be moved to the new benefit. These so called ‘legacy benefits’ that were to be replaced by UC include working tax credits, child tax credits, housing benefit, employment and support allowance, income support and jobseeker’s allowance.
The managed migration programme was fraught with difficulties, compounded by a lack of understanding in the support system of the workings of UC. That was a big driver for Society Matters cic introducing its Get to Grips with Universal Credit training course in 2019, with the objective of removing the confusion and ensuring that people were supported to understand their obligations when on this new benefit, and ensuring they were able to effectively manage their claim.
Planned migration did go ahead, and by March 2020 millions of people were claiming UC, but there were still millions claiming legacy benefits that needed to be managed across. However the migration programme was disrupted significant as a result of the pandemic. The requirements of people already claiming were changed, with sanctions pretty much abandoned (as the requirement to seek work and attend appointments which are fundamental to the UC ‘Claimant Commitment’ were no longer feasible) and the migration programme came to a standstill whilst a massive 1.5 million people claimed UC for the first time.
The Universal Credit Migration Roller coaster starts again, but this time with a safety net
There has been some transition from legacy benefits over the past couple of years, as a change in personal circumstance (such as moving house, co-habiting, new children in a family) automatically triggers a reassessment and shift to UC – this has been termed ‘natural migration’. However as at April 2022 the government has estimated that around 2.6 million households in the UK are still claiming legacy benefits, compared to 5.6 million claiming UC, and so it’s now time for that to stop. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has therefore announced the restart of the managed migration programme in full force, with the objective of getting all claimants moved to UC by the end of 2024, building on learning from a pilot that started in Harrogate in 2019.
The government has estimated that more than half of current legacy benefits claimants will be better off on UC, and around 1.4 million households should voluntarily move to gain the increased income outside of the migration programme. Only time will tell whether that comes to fruition, but in the meantime a welcome safety net has been put in place by the DWP they’ve called transitional protection that may top up a person’s UC so it matches their previous benefit income to ensure they are not worse off due to the move.
Transitional protection is achieved by including an extra element of UC in the claim to the value of the difference to the amount received on the legacy benefits and this will last until there is no shortfall between the amount awarded under UC and the amount previously received on the legacy benefits, taking into account changes in circumstances that would have impacted on their original benefits too.
Migration to UC will be triggered with 3 months’ notice
Whilst people are being encouraged to voluntarily migrate to UC, this will no longer be an option when they appear in the migration programme – they will receive a migration notice from DWP giving them a deadline date no less than three months after the migration notice.
There will be some flexibility for people who need longer to adjust or need additional support, but this needs to be formally agreed. Otherwise, if they haven’t made their first UC claim by the deadline day their entitlement and payment to most existing benefits will stop, other than if housing benefit applies this is likely to be paid for two further weeks.
The DWP have said that claims made within one further month after the deadline day will be treated as having been made in time and automatically be backdated to the deadline day, however importantly if a claim is made after that time it will be treated as a new claim altogether. In these circumstances, there will be no transitional protection so there’s a risk people may lose out on a significant top up to maintain their original level of benefits received through the legacy system, so It is very important to let the DWP know if someone might struggle with the migration due to a learning disability or mental health condition for example, so extra support and extended timescales can be agreed.
Help is available
We would always recommend getting a full benefit check whenever there is a change in circumstances (and a ‘better off’ calculation to give people a reading of what their UC payments will be so they can budget), especially during these really challenging times. If help is needed to make a UC application it’s also recommended that people are referred to the ‘Citizens Advice Help to Claim service’.
If you’d like to understand more about UC to help you to improve your confidence and the service you can offer to people please get in touch with Society Matters cic – we provide social solutions, including social welfare training, to help you to make your mark.
