WRAG from April 2017

I’m preparing a briefing on forthcoming welfare reform changes. I understand that the WRA component/element will no longer be paid to new ESA and UC claimants from 1 April 2017. So I read this as existing claimants already receiving the additional amount will be unaffected by the change, but still a few uncertainties remain:

• What happens after April 2017 when somebody in the WRA Group has a new WCA and remains in the WRA Group? Will they continue to be paid the WRA Component if the claim is continuous?
• What happens after April 2017 when somebody in the WRA Group has a new WCA and is placed in the Support Group, and then at a future date is moved back to the WRA Group? Will they continue to be paid the WRA Component if the claim is continuous?

I’m sure there are many more uncertainties!

Thanks

We don’t know because that stuff is to be set out in regulations and the regulations don’t yet exist. The April 2017 date isn’t even set out in law yet.

However the assumption is if it is only covering new claims, then the important date is the date of claim. If you claimed before 1st April, the current rules will apply and WRAG will be paid as before no matter what happens in the lifetime of your claim.

I’d strongly suggest taking a look at this briefing paper (particularly section 5) for info on what is known so far - http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7649