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UC instead of ESA
I have just had a call from a client who was released from remand in December and was forced to claim UC, he continued to receive PIP and HB but was advised to claim UC in error, how do i get him back onto ESA
thanks
Hi Steph,
I assume he had an SDP in his HB and claimed before 27th January? If he’s still within his first UC assessment period it used to be quite straightforward to get it sorted out and the legacy benefit reinstated using local JCP escalation routes (JCP manager or similar would liaise with UC service centre and relevant legacy benefit team). However I haven’t had a case like this since the gateway closed, which I imagine may have made it slightly trickier to deal with - hopefully someone who has experience of this will chip in.
If he has received a payment of UC, you’ll need to make a case that it’s in his best interests for the ESA to be reinstated - which shouldn’t be too hard, as if his SDP was only in HB he’s not entitled to a Transitional Element in UC, meaning that he’s worse off on it. I haven’t had a case like this myself, as HTC deals with new claims, but the advice is to call the SDP helpline (0800 181 4049).
[ Edited: 11 Feb 2021 at 06:20 pm by Carolyn McA ]According the the answer message the SDP Helpline is now closed - surprisingly since there is, in my opinion, still going to be quite a bit of unpicking to do for some time to come.