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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit migration  →  Thread

SDP or UC? 

EKS_COTTON
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Tax and Welfare Rights Officer, Equity

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Hi

I think the answer to these question are no but I just wanted to double check.

The SDP gateway regs say you cannot claim UC if you have been ENTITLED to an award of an existing benefit which includes the severe disability premium; and in a case where the award ended during that month, continues to satisfy the severe disability premium conditions.

My client is in receipt of CESA with support group (no IRESA) and just been awarded PIP( standard rates daily living and mobility) backdated to 20th March 2018 (on appeal).

She has just split with her partner.  They had a joint tax credit claim.

Can she now claim SDP or does she move over to UC?

And if she has to move over to UC, would she would not be entitled to any transitional protection? 

EKS

Charles
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Accountant, Haffner Hoff Ltd, Manchester

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Was the CESA award made under old-style rules or new-style?

EKS_COTTON
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Tax and Welfare Rights Officer, Equity

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Thanks Charles.  Old-style rules - from december 2017.  I have a copy of her customer statement (telephone claim_).

Ianb
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Macmillan benefits team, Citizens Advice Bristol

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Under ‘old style’ ESA ,contribution based and income based are two aspects of one benefit. They should be able to ask to have their ESA entitlement reviewed to see if they have an entitlement to an income based top and will be entitled to have SDP included in the calculation if they meet the qualifying conditions. They’ll get sent an ESA3 to complete and return.

A new claim is not required to there is no need to switch to UC.

EKS_COTTON
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Tax and Welfare Rights Officer, Equity

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Excellent.  Thanks so much.

Carolyn McA
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Adviser, Citizens Advice and Rights Fife

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Hi,

I had what I thought* was a client in the same circumstances last week (had become entitled to SDP because her partner had left the household). When I rang the DWP ‘SDP helpline’ to get the premium added to my client’s ESA, the agent I spoke to informed me that my client couldn’t now get SDP because “SDP was abolished on 16th January, so she’ll have to claim Universal Credit”. When I tried to challenge this misinformation on the basis of CPAG training, the agent became hostile and rude, so I terminated the call.

*In the end it turned out that she was already getting SDP as her partner was in receipt of a qualifying benefit. However, I contacted the CPAG advice line to confirm whether or not a client can still be awarded SDP if they’ve just become entitled, and the answer is yes:

Mark Willis gave me the ‘chapter and verse”: “DWP memo 11/18 [...]
The Secretary of State accepted that
1.          ESA is a single benefit with two elements
2.          no separate claim is required for each element
3.          the DM is required to consider entitlement to both elements from the effective date when making a conversion decision and to gather information about the claimant’s financial circumstances
4.          the failure to gather financial information was an official error, and the conversion decision should be revised from the effective date
5.          SK v SSWP1 (which held that a previous decision of the UT2 showed that the conversion decision in SK v SSWP was erroneous in law) was itself erroneous in law.
1 CSE/33/18; 2 LH v SSWP [2014] UKUT 480 (AAC); [2015] AACR 14
It could also work if she was already on housing benefit in her name – the SDP could be added, which would mean she cannot claim UC and can claim legacy benefits instead.”

EKS_COTTON
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Tax and Welfare Rights Officer, Equity

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Carolyn - thanks so much for the heads up which I have conveyed to the client.  Will update in due course on how it goes.