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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit migration  →  Thread

Can a single person with SDP stay on legacy benefit if they move in with partner who is a UC claimant?

Tina M
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Benefits team - Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau

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We have been trying to produce a checklist of situations where natural migration can be avoided and we were wondering if it would be possible for a single claimant who receives the SDP as part of their legacy benefits to stay on legacy benefits if s/he moves in with a partner who is on UC.

This would only be possible if the new partner could end the UC claim and then after a few days be added as a partner to the legacy benefits claim.  This would be beneficial if the new partner is also on PIP/DLA and would also qualify for the SDP.

CPAG WB&TC; HB page 26 says that a single claimant who is on UC who becomes part of a couple with someone on legacy benefits becomes a joint UC claimant which would end the legacy benefit claim. This is true if they stay on UC but what if they end the UC claim and then report the change of circumstances?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/380/regulation/9/made

HB Anorak
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Great question.  It doesn’t look as if either Reg 9(8) of the C&P Regs or Reg 7 of the UC (Transitional Provisions) Regs have been amended to deal specifically with this.  It would be consistent with the policy for the SDP exemption not to apply, since only one of them already has an SDP.

I think there is a subtle difference between making a claim, which Reg 4A says you cannot do, and being treated as having made a claim in accordance with Reg 9(8).  I don’t think treated as made is blocked by Reg 4A, accordingly the SDP rules doesn’t apply.

I don’t imagine this will affect massive numbers of people

Tina M
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HB Anorak - 06 February 2019 06:49 PM

Great question.  It doesn’t look as if either Reg 9(8) of the C&P Regs or Reg 7 of the UC (Transitional Provisions) Regs have been amended to deal specifically with this.  It would be consistent with the policy for the SDP exemption not to apply, since only one of them already has an SDP.

I think there is a subtle difference between making a claim, which Reg 4A says you cannot do, and being treated as having made a claim in accordance with Reg 9(8).  I don’t think treated as made is blocked by Reg 4A, accordingly the SDP rules doesn’t apply.

I don’t imagine this will affect massive numbers of people

Thanks HB Anorak. 

I’m not sure it will affect many people but we do work with some very vulnerable groups where people who have long-term health conditions or disabilities do get together with a new partner that they meet through a support group, so if there is some why they can avoid losing benefits through natural migration

It does look like Reg 9(8) will prevent this but I’m not sure what the Reg 4A is that you have mentioned.

HB Anorak
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That’s the new Reg 4A of the UC (Transitional Provisions) Regs 2014: that’s where it says you cannot claim UC if you have an SDP

HB Anorak
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Sorry I didn’t deal with your suggestion that the UC claimant could come off UC before forming a couple with the legacy claimant: yes, that works.  The ex-UC claimant will be the partner on the legacy HB/ESA award; that award will be reassessed to include couple rate SDP if the conditions are satisfied; and then they are blocked from claiming UC and are able to make a new claim for whichever one of ESA/HB they don’t currently have.

FWK77
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So in situations whereby a UC claimant with no SDP entitlement, withdraws their UC claim and then after withdrawal moves in with a claimant in receipt of ESA/HB with an SDP on both (and thus will no longer be entitled to the SDP once the former UC claimant moves in), can they be added as a change of circs to both ESA/HB claims as a partner given no new claims are needed? if not what is stopping that from happening?

HB Anorak
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That can be done too - if one of them already has both HB and a legacy DWP award, they already have everything they need without it being necessary to make any new claims and so they don’t have to rely on the SDP.  Basically any new couple can do this if the UC partner gets themselves off UC first and either:

- the other one already has both HB and legacy DWP benefits, or
- they will not be needing HB or a DWP benefit (eg earnings too high even for couple rate DWP benefit but still qualify for HB).

Tina M
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HB Anorak

Thanks for clarifying your reply.  We would like to know how you withdraw a UC claim - is it just by notifying them on the journal or do you have to phone the helpline?  Is there any legislation or guidance for decision makers on this?  I know a few years ago we were talking about people doing this to get out of the lobster pot but I haven’t seen anything recently about this..

MareeH
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I have a couple in this situation, one is on ESA with SDP, wants to move in partner who gets PIP DL but is on UC.
So is it correct the partner can close their UC claim, then move in with the ESA claimant and get added to their existing ESA/HB claim?

Are there any time limits for the closing - e.g. if they close on the first day of new assessment period (so getting their last single payment of UC) do they need to wait for any length of time before moving in with partner and being added to ESA?

Has anyone had any successes in this approach?

Charles
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As mentioned on a couple of other threads, DWP recently changed their guidance to say that the termination of a claim where a claimant has requested it only has effect from the following AP. So you’d have to be careful to close it in the AP which ends before the partner moves in.

I have had a case recently where DWP did not follow this guidance though.