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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit migration  →  Thread

Claimants already getting SDP

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Charles
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Accountant, Haffner Hoff Ltd, Manchester

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A decision will have been made to terminate the tax credits award. My understanding is that once a decision is made, however erroneous, that decision has to be revised. This includes errors of law.
Most decisions can be revised on the grounds of official error, which includes an error of law. However the decision to terminate tax credits due to a UC claim (similar to a termination due to tax-free childcare) is not included in the list of decisions which can be revised.
You could however wait until the s18 decision was made and MR/appeal that.

Owen_Stevens
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New HB adjudication circular: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-adjudication-circulars-2020/a32020-changes-to-the-severe-disability-premium-process

Potentially indicates further policy changes afoot.

This has all been discussed here but I’m posting on this thread

Owen_Stevens
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An FOI response which sheds a bit more light on the recent guidance.

Confirms the following:
- the recent guidance indicated a change of approach from 2/3/20, not simply a clarification of an existing approach
- DWP will seek for UC to be repaid (note that I don’t think that DWP have the power to make deductions from legacy benefit to recover UC - if anyone comes across this happening then let me know)
- it states that DWP will arrange for legacy benefits, including tax credits , to be put into payment
- it is estimated that 3-4 people per week will return to legacy benefits as a reslt of the new policy
- this will not be applied to people who are correctly allowed to claim UC but who subsequently, at MR or appeal, have SDP included in their benefit (this had been my opinion but I’d not seen this confirmed anywhere prior to this)
- this process will be dealt with by a specialist team in Preston (although I suspect that this is currently on hold due to covid-19 resource isssues)

[ Edited: 6 Apr 2020 at 12:02 pm by Owen_Stevens ]

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Timothy Seaside
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I have a client who managed to breach the SDP gateway in March when they approached the jobcentre to ask what they needed to claim as they are unable to find suitable work (they were getting SDP in their HB). After I alerted the jobcentre to this they passed it up the line. It’s going to be sorted, but…

“Due to the current staffing situation no customers are being repatriated at the minute so the customer will need to remain on UC for the time being until we can start handing customers over again”

I don’t know if they’ve redeployed a load of border staff into the DWP (staff who would otherwise presumably be sitting around twiddling their thumbs in empty airports at the moment), but I do know that my client cannot be repatriated because she’s already here (and ESA an HB are not countries). A part of me wants to get all pedantic about this, but another part of me wants to applaud the use of metaphor. But then it’s such an ugly metaphor with connotations of black shirts and detention centres and xenophobia. Why not rescued, or returned?

BC Welfare Rights
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I don’t know Timothy, I quite like the idea of being extradited to ESA or deported to Housing Benefit. It has an air of excitement and intrigue about it. Although a flotilla of small boats sailing back down the UC creek to rescue and return you to the sanctuary of legacy benefits is also appealing, I must admit. Back to the asylum of Income Support.

Pete at CAB
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BC Welfare Rights - 09 April 2020 10:14 AM

I don’t know Timothy, I quite like the idea of being extradited to ESA or deported to Housing Benefit. It has an air of excitement and intrigue about it. Although a flotilla of small boats sailing back down the UC creek to rescue and return you to the sanctuary of legacy benefits is also appealing, I must admit. Back to the asylum of Income Support.

I think it would have to be a bit more cloak and dagger than that, picture the scene - a bridge somewhere in the UK, It is dark and raining. The hapless claimant and someone from UC walk to the middle of the bridge. Someone from ESA walks from the other side of the bridge to meet them. They exchange passwords ( the colour of the claimants first car and his mothers main job).  The UC person turns round and walks back to their side of the bridge alone…......................................

Va1der
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Pete at CAB - 09 April 2020 10:55 AM
BC Welfare Rights - 09 April 2020 10:14 AM

I don’t know Timothy, I quite like the idea of being extradited to ESA or deported to Housing Benefit. It has an air of excitement and intrigue about it. Although a flotilla of small boats sailing back down the UC creek to rescue and return you to the sanctuary of legacy benefits is also appealing, I must admit. Back to the asylum of Income Support.

I think it would have to be a bit more cloak and dagger than that, picture the scene - a bridge somewhere in the UK, It is dark and raining. The hapless claimant and someone from UC walk to the middle of the bridge. Someone from ESA walks from the other side of the bridge to meet them. They exchange passwords ( the colour of the claimants first car and his mothers main job).  The UC person turns round and walks back to their side of the bridge alone…......................................

Alone, but not empty handed - clutching a few strands of the claimant’s sanity (the scene tends to have more of a Lovecraft-esque feel in my mind).

Chrissum
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I quite like the idea of the UC creek. presumably there are a few people up there without propelling devices? ; P

Jess Strode
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Timothy Seaside - 09 April 2020 08:26 AM

I have a client who managed to breach the SDP gateway in March when they approached the jobcentre to ask what they needed to claim as they are unable to find suitable work (they were getting SDP in their HB). After I alerted the jobcentre to this they passed it up the line. It’s going to be sorted, but…

“Due to the current staffing situation no customers are being repatriated at the minute so the customer will need to remain on UC for the time being until we can start handing customers over again”

Just a quick note, CPAG have approached DWP for confirmation that clients in this position can return to legacy benefits later, even if they claim UC in the meantime. We expect a response imminently, and will share as appropriate.

Owen_Stevens
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An update from Jess: https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15942/

Jess Strode - 20 April 2020 03:15 PM

CPAG have received clarification from DWP in response to advice by DWP that ‘the repartition process has been suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis’ (in respect of claimants who have breached the SDP Gateway and are being returned to legacy benefits).

DWP now state:

“Operational colleagues are continuing to prioritise the cases that are either identified prior to an award of UC having been made, or who have had the repatriation process started (i.e. those cases where we have already made contact with the claimant) and these will be completed in due course.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, those claims which are identified after an award of UC has already been made and have not yet been contacted by the Department, may be contacted at a slower pace due to operational pressures in the Department.”

In short, people are still being moved back to legacy benefits, just at a slower rate.  Where UC is not in payment, DWP will prioritise ‘repatriation’, otherwise it will happen more ‘slowly’.

Please let us know if you have clients experiencing hardship due to delays, who have neither legacy benefits or UC in payment .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Jess Strode
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CPAG have received confirmation from DWP that:

a) ‘repatriation’ to legacy benefits is ongoing (albeit more slowly) during COVID-19)
b) claimants should not terminate their UC claim, DWP will do this as part of the repatriation process

DWP have asked CPAG to let them know of any claimants told by JC+ to terminate their UC claim. Please get in touch if you have any clients in this position: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

I have posted more details here https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15942/#76043

CA Adviser
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Citizens Advice Calderdale, West Yorkshire

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Client is on income-related ESA with the WRA component and PIP SR DL, and is eligible for the SDP but it is not included in their ESA award. Cl has been on ESA since 2013. Living alone in mother’s house following separation. Moving to PR property so needs to claim help with housing costs. Could ask for supersession of ESA award to include the SDP and then claim HB as prevented from claiming UC by SDP gateway. Or could he claim UC now as not prevented by SDP gateway, then ask for supersession of ESA award to include SDP for past period, and ask for SDP transitional amount (£285pcm if not in LCWRA) to be awarded? QBC shows cl would be better off on UC with SDP transitional amount by £19.11pw. What am I missing? Would he be moved back to legacy?

[ Edited: 1 Jun 2020 at 09:22 am by CA Adviser ]
unhindered by talent
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Daphne - 23 September 2019 03:22 PM

Someone has raised with me an issue were a local authority is saying that you don’t meet the SDP gateway conditions if your only entitlement to SDP is in HB - I think getting confused with the fact that you don’t get SDP transitional payments if you’ve already migrated to UC and your previous SDP entitlement was only in HB (https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/dwp-backtracks-on-provision-of-sdp-transitional-payments-to-people-formerly).

Has anyone else seen this happening?

Our HB folks think you can only get SDP in HB if it’s in ESA already, as opposed to simply adding it to the HB applicable amount themselves where the eligibility conditions are met.

bristol_1
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My client got through the SDP gateway in January, was previously on JSA with disability premium and SDP, told to claim UC as unfit for work, not getting SDP compo at the moment.

Once I’ve sorted out the SDP compo and filed a complaint about the misadvice and underpayment causing hardship, client could look to move back to legacy. In most of the possible outcomes (JSAir/ESA assessment phase/ESA WRAG vs UC LCW/ESA SG vs UC LCWRA) client is either slightly better off by a couple of quid in UC or significantly worse off on UC - however, given that she actually has high total deductions for rent arrears, CT arrears and UC advance, she will actually be better off on legacy in all circs.

Does anyone know how recovery of a UC advance would take place when a client reverts to legacy? would it be treated as a benefit OP (deducted at 3.70/week) or more like a social fund (variable but could be negotiated down)?

sallyann
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stevejohnsontrainer - 19 March 2019 06:40 PM

From email response recieved from UC Policy Group today…

“...The issue / question you refer to below has arisen previously and the legal advice we have had confirms that ‘a person entitled to a benefit that includes the SDP, includes a person who meet the conditions for SDP but have not yet received it’.

So, if someone is not receiving the SDP as part of their legacy benefit (e.g. Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (income based), Employment & Support Allowance (income related) and Housing Benefit), but following a change of circumstances that requires them to make a new claim to Universal Credit (as this replaces the above benefits), it is identified during the course of dealing with this change of circumstances that the claimant should be receiving SDP, as they meet all of the qualifying conditions but for some reason this hasn’t been put into payment, then these claimants will be prevented from claiming UC by the SDP Gateway and will be able to stay on / claim a legacy benefit, and the SDP will be added to their claim. These claimants will then only be moved to UC by the DWP as part of the managed migration exercise as some point in the future and will receive transitional protection.


Thanks”
Hello, Is there any chance I could get a copy of that email, please.

Thanks,
Sylwia