Entitlement to SDP but which benefit?

Hi, I have a client who is entitled to SDP due to PIP Daily Living, is separated from husband who is moving out and wants to know which benefits she can be entitled to. Council Tax reduction would be one of them.  However, when it comes to ESA the rules state if you are either receiving or ‘entitled’ to SDP you can apply. Problem is, In the past, DWP they simply refused ESA with someone else saying you have not received SDP in the last 3 months and therefore you have to claim UC.  Sadly people miss out on SDP for this reason.  Should we first apply for CTR have the SDP added onto it THEN apply for ESA?  I would appreciate any ideas.

The SDP doesn’t have an abstract existence - it can only be a premium which is included in the calculation of IS, ibJSA, irESA, HB and PC. If your client doesn’t get one of those benefits then the fact that they might have qualified for the SDP is academic.

The logic is that the courts have told the government that, in the transition to UC, it is not allowed to take the SDP away from people who already get it without some sort of transitional provision. The same considerations do not apply to people who never got the SDP to begin with and therefore are not losing anything by the transition to UC.

There are a couple of manoeuvres which can be used to cheekily bring a claimant within the terms of the gateway despite not previously having been on legacy benefits but the main way this can be done is if the claimant is in accommodation which is still subject to HB (i.e. temporary or supported accommodation). CTR alone will not cut it.