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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit migration  →  Thread

Calculation of UC transitional SDP element

R2D2
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Welfare rights - Financial Inclusion and Advice Service, Suffolk County Council

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I’m lost in the regulations and guidance and I’ve only just come up for air - can someone help with the following scenario please?

Two people living separately and each in the support group for ESA and receiving SDP are about to move in together and claim UC as a couple - how will the transitional element of their UC be calculated?

For example,

- which transitional SDP element will apply in the first assessment period, and

- how will their “total legacy amount” be calculated so it can be compared with their “indicative UC”?

Elliot Kent
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Why are they claiming UC? Couldn’t they just keep one of the ESA claims live and add a partner?

If they are going to claim UC, the transitional element is £405. The concepts referred to in your second question are irrelevant as they only apply to the calculation of transitional elements under managed migration which is not yet happening.

Charles
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I don’t think it can be £405, as the “higher SDP rate” was never payable. I think it may have to be £120, which is grossly unfair!

Elliot Kent
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Charles - 25 February 2021 01:15 PM

I don’t think it can be £405, as the “higher SDP rate” was never payable. I think it may have to be £120, which is grossly unfair!

Move in together, shut off one ESA claim, get double SDP put in place on the remaining ESA award then claim UC?

Charles
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Good idea!

HB Anorak
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Are they going to need to make a new claim for help with housing costs because either (a) neither is currently renting and they are moving into rented accommodation, or (b) they are moving out of borough so cannot remain on HB in same area?  That means they will need to claim UC.  But it might be worth delaying the UC claim for a week or two in order to become an ESA couple briefly and then they can satisfy para 5(b)(i) of Schedule 2.  Even if they are moving into expensive supported accommodation, that manoeuvre would pay for itself within a couple of months

P.S.  As Elliot said ... sorry, didn’t read the whole thread!

R2D2
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Thanks all, it wasn’t clear at first whether they would be able to avoid making a new claim for HB in a different borough but it looks like they can, which makes changing to an ESA couple claim an option.

tarzier
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Can someone also advise me, I have case where someone is entitled to the old style legacy contribution based ESA and he is in the support group (113.55 pw).  He has always received contribution based ESA despite his capital being below £16,000.  PIP have only paid mobility when in fact the person should have also had the Daily Living Component Paid and therefore entitled to SDP.  I am in the process of writing to PIP and asking that they re-instate the Daily Living Component back to 2018, as I believe they viewed his accommodation status incorrectly i.e. that he is in rented Support Accommodation not residential care.

If PIP is back dated to 2018 can I then make a retrospective claim to IR ESA as he would have been entitled back in 2018 and would have received the SDP?

Or do I make a claim to UC, however his current weekly amount of C ESA exceeds what someone would be initially entitled to on UC, so would that in effect Nil the claim anyway?  Can someone advise what is best to do.

Thanks Julia

Elliot Kent
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Because old-style ESA is (was?) one benefit consisting of both contributory and income related elements, a claimant who already gets one flavour or other can have the other included in their award without requiring a new claim as such. This means that your client ought to be able to have irESA with the SDP put into place within the context of their current ESA award if the PIP decision is revised.

There is no obvious reason in those circumstances to think about claiming UC. However if we were to accept for the moment that your client is correctly only entitled to PIP mobility, then he would probably be better off by claiming UC. This is because his UC award would immediately include the LCWRA element as this is transferred over from ESA. His basic UC (£409.89) plus LCWRA (£341.92) comes to £751.81 per month total. After deducting his cESA of £492.05, he would expect to get another £259.76 per month in UC before any other deductions.

tarzier
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Many thanks Elliot.