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UC when SDP payable
Can someone who would be entitled to the SDP actually be able to claim UC or are they barred in the same way that parents with three or more children are barred? I have a cl. who is on SSP and PIPS and would qualify for the DP and SDP if they were able to claim IS rather than UC.
I know that it was suggested that ‘sdp cases’ would be barred from UC until they were changed in ‘planned migration’ but I must have missed the reports about implementation dates and so on.
Any information gladly received!
They are not barred from claiming UC.
SDP-entitled people will be prevented from claiming under the draft managed migration regulations once they come into force (assuming that they aren’t amended from the current form). The consultation on these regulations is still open until 20 August and implementation will be further down the road (probably September or October).
(and - as drafted - your client wouldn’t be covered by the regulations anyway because they only cover people who are actually in receipt of the SDP and not people who would otherwise be entitled to the SDP)
[ Edited: 18 Jul 2018 at 05:18 pm by Elliot Kent ]Thanks for the reply, that has answered the question
I just had a client who was rec the sdp on esa but moved over to UC when he moved house DWP have reinstated the sdp now as I argued that as he had been getting the sdp he was protected, amazingly uC has paid up the sdp
Blimey. Did they also cover the EDP?
I just had a client who was rec the sdp on esa but moved over to UC when he moved house DWP have reinstated the sdp now as I argued that as he had been getting the sdp he was protected, amazingly uC has paid up the sdp
How? it doesn’t exist in UC
I hear there are trans rules being brought forward and also speclalpaymnets for htsoe who lost out on the sdp after moving to UC, I have asked my cl to bring in his journal to see exactly what is going on as it is an anomaly it seems, further updates follow
““Following the recent High Court decision which held that loss of the sdp on natural migration to UC was unlawful and the government’s subsequent statement (see Benefits update June 2018), draft regulations are now before the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) which outline the planned scheme of transitional protection on managed migration. They also prevent current legacy claimants who receive the sdp from claiming UC and provide for a system of ‘transitional sdp payments’ to be made to those who have already migrated to UC and lost the sdp”.
I hear there are trans rules being brought forward and also speclalpaymnets for htsoe who lost out on the sdp after moving to UC, I have asked my cl to bring in his journal to see exactly what is going on as it is an anomaly it seems, further updates follow
The Transitional Provisions do provide for payments to be made to compensate for the loss of the SDP (albeit under the current draft, they are going to short change clients by £100 per month…) but there is no rule as yet covering this situation.
There have been cases where clients have received compensation for the loss of the SDP or have been put back onto legacy benefits by the DWP - however I’m only aware of this happening either where UC has been claimed as a result of mis-advice or where judicial review is threatened.
As Elliot said earlier, none of this has happened yet, and I would tend to agree with his estimate of September-October for when it will happen.
When the draft regs come into force, assuming they do not undergo any radical redesign, things will be as follows:
- People with the SDP included in the calculation of a legacy benefit will become a new class of person from whom DWP does not accept UC claims prompted by natural events. They will still be able to make new claims for all legacy benefits, typically HB after a change of address. But not yet - September/October
- People who before Sept/Oct have already claimed UC and found that it has a lower rate than legacy benefits including the SDP will qualify for rough-and-ready compensation at a flat rate
In the meantime there is nothing to stop existing SDP beneficiaries from claiming UC if that’s what they want to do (and people who move to rented accommodation in a full service LA will almost certainly want to claim UC - the guy who won the JR case was in Hammersmith where the one bed LHA is about £250 a week, you don’t just not claim that). They will have to wait until Sept/Oct to get any money back
The idea that the SDP is currently being paid as part of UC is just beyond me … how is that even possible? Does the digital system with all its bells and whistles allow the case manager to award whatever amount s/he feels like?
P.S. Snap, Elliot in there again before me!
well it may all turn out to be smokes and mirrors, I have asked to see the journal. I had sent the client off to the jobcentre woth a note demanding the sdp as he it in esa and he says it has been added to UC but I will check myself to see whats going on before we open the bubbly. in any event some rough and ready system will have to be invented asn there are no buttons marked sdp on the UC desktop yet, I amhaing a button made for them and do hope they appreciate it
This isn’t about buttons on a desktop, it’s about the fact that the Act and the regulations as currently drafted do not allow an SDP to be paid with a UC claim.
Thank you Paul, my client was rec the sdp on esa, he has now lost it and I understand some kind of ad hoc system is needed to pay him the sdp again in due course.
Thank you Paul, my client was rec the sdp on esa, he has now lost it and I understand some kind of ad hoc system is needed to pay him the sdp again in due course.
So any news about how or if your client got on with the SDP and UC SocSec?
So for a claimant who has succeeded a tenancy in a full UC area who gets the SDP in his ESA will be able to still claim HB now or will he get some compensation from losing out on the SDP in his UC? Or does this only come into effect in Sept/Oct? Confused as previously read that SDP claimants were not able to claim UC or rather were not migrating over to UC as of yet..
My client has started but not completed his claim for UC online & his housing officer made a claim for HB with him but then didn;t finish it and he’s now been issued with a NOSP!!
.
So for a claimant who has succeeded a tenancy in a full UC area who gets the SDP in his ESA will be able to still claim HB now or will he get some compensation from losing out on the SDP in his UC? Or does this only come into effect in Sept/Oct? Confused as previously read that SDP claimants were not able to claim UC or rather were not migrating over to UC as of yet..
My client has started but not completed his claim for UC online & his housing officer made a claim for HB with him but then didn;t finish it and he’s now been issued with a NOSP!!
.
He can either (a) claim UC or (b) tough it out on just his PIP & ESA until the law changes.
As of today (07/08/18), he cannot claim housing benefit.
Thanks, its what I thought. Will he get any compensation though for the SDP loss or is that too not until the revised TP regs have come in?
Edited to delete incorrect suggestion. My mistake.
[ Edited: 7 Aug 2018 at 01:17 pm by HB Anorak ]How would he be able to switch back from UC to ESA?
Ah, there’s a flaw in my scheme isn’t there. He won’t be an existing SDP claimant any longer will he so he cannot claim ESA or HB again.
Sorry, put that down to 14 hour flight delay followed by three hours of deep refreshing sleep!
Thanks, its what I thought. Will he get any compensation though for the SDP loss or is that too not until the revised TP regs have come in?
According to the draft MM regs, he would be compensated if - when the DWP get around to looking at his case - his situation hasn’t changed in a way that would have stopped SDP being payable.
(edited as above).
[ Edited: 7 Aug 2018 at 01:52 pm by Elliot Kent ]Thanks everyone!
Just have another scenario. Claimant has lost the SDP as she was helped to make a claim for UC by the job centre due to her mental health. She was awarded the support group on MR while claiming JSA and once the decision was changed, JSA checked with ESA and they put her on UC. She has a mortgage and the SDP was helping her meet the shortfall from SMI and now she’s having to find £400 from nowhere.
Just have another scenario. Claimant has lost the SDP as she was helped to make a claim for UC by the job centre due to her mental health. She was awarded the support group on MR while claiming JSA and once the decision was changed, JSA checked with ESA and they put her on UC. She has a mortgage and the SDP was helping her meet the shortfall from SMI and now she’s having to find £400 from nowhere.
Can you clarify the sequence of events - she went on to JSA while ESA was subject to MR (found fit for work presumably), won the MR and got put in the ESA Support Group, but the Jobcentre moved her to UC?
I can’t see any grounds for a UC claim if this sequence is correct, even if the area went full service after the JSA claim was made.
At the very least there’s a formal complaint/compensation claim here if she was moved to UC when she didn’t need to be and lost money- ?
It would of course be different if it was already full service and she had to move to UC while the MR was undertaken.
It’s exactly as you said. She should have gone back onto ESA as was only on JSA during the MR which was then successful and she was put back into the support group. The JCP officer called ESA who told them that she had to make a new claim for UC which they then helped her do! I’ve advised her to make a complaint and request compensation (she has the JCP officer’s details).
Could you let us know how you get on with the complaint? This keeps on happening and I don’t think there is any way back to IRESA in this situation (happy to be corrected if anyone has managed this)
Once the new Regs are sorted out she will presumably be entitled to some form of compensation for lost SDP but the present position is that she is entitled to none at all, and besides, DWP needs to explain why it thought UC was such a good idea!
I am sceptical to say the least, and think that they are shovelling anyone and everyone on to UC whether it helps them or not.
Hi Andrew
Unfortunately it was a caller to our advice line so she will be doing the complaint with help from the CAB who helped her with the MR. If she does get back in contact I will let you know.
Thanks
Jo
We have a client who will become entitled to SDP on an ESA claim when she moves from her mum’s to her own tenancy. If she completes an IS10 can she claim HB within a month as a person entitled to SDP? We are in a full-service area.
As it stands right now: no, unless she occupies specified accommodation. Otherwise she cannot claim HB.
The amendment of the Transitional Provisions Regs blocking UC claims (and allowing legacy claims) has not happened yet.
Thanks, HB Anorak
I have a similar case and was thinking, tactically, would it be an option to not claim UC, pay the rent from exisitng benefits, and instead apply for the SDP until the regulations are passed then just claim HB at that point? The rent involved is just under £80 per week so this would be mostly covered by the SDP in any event.
This is how I read the last post from Unhindered
I have a similar case too : Gent living as a non dependent with his mother (2xSDPs in payment under legacy benefits) he is currently on ESA support group. mother recently passed away and client has taken over the tenancy, he has been advised to claim UC for housing costs but this will cost him his SDP. client has significant mental health and is aware JCP may request fit notes and he may receive a UC50 and medical assessment.
he has decided to stay on ESA and just pay his rent because of this.
Are the draft amendments due out in jan19 to protect these cases?