DWP plans for both managed move to UC and voluntary move to UC

A few very brief notes from stakeholder Move to UC meeting today - expanding a little on report published earlier in the week - https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/10-per-cent-of-claimants-issued-a-migration-notice-in-the-first-cohort-of-move-to-universal-credit-discovery-phase-failed-to-make-a-claim-and-had-their-legacy-benefits-terminated

Some additional stats on the ETS https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/946084/response/2251767/attach/3/Response%20FOI2023%2010503.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

Possibly of interest for readers of this thread: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/946090/response/2254951/attach/3/Response%20FOI2023%2010516.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

The latest Touchbase has the following on the expansion of managed migration:

From April we will be expanding to Avon, Somerset and Gloucester. We will expand further in May, bringing onboard East London and Cheshire.

I may be losing touch with all this a bit, but I’ve just found out that DWP may consider, before terminating a claim, putting the case before a panel to decide vulnerability.

What panel? Made up of? Criteria? Contactable?

Still no word of any work with Adult Care providers?

ICYMI yesterday:

Managed migration of universal credit to roll out in Greater Manchester, East Yorkshire and the Humber from June 2023

shawn mach - 26 April 2023 09:31 AM

ICYMI yesterday:

Talk about rubbing it in…

Does anyone from other areas where it has already rolled out (e.g., Avon, Somerset and Gloucester in April) know how the roll out works in practice?

For example, do they start with claimants in one JCP area in the region? Or all of them at once? Is there a specific way in how they pick claimants at the start?

We had the UC stakeholder meeting yesterday and they didn’t give that level of detail I’m afraid - when asked how many migration notices they had sent out, they said it was ‘in the low thousands’ so far this month in Avon, Somerset and Gloucestershire.

I’ll send an email up and see if I can get any more info…

Thanks Daphne.

In a recent FOI response to Owen Stevens, there is a list of claim types who are currently ‘deferred’ from managed migration. For example, a big one is couples. But I don’t know how up to date this document is.

See pages 9-10 of this document:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/946082/response/2254984/attach/3/Case%20Manager%20Guidance%20redacted.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

I went to a UC stakeholder session specifically looking at potential problem areas for couples - they’re not quite ready yet, but they intend to be pretty soon - a matter of months, if that, was the impression they gave.

A lot of the others don’t apply if TC only, tho there is the 19 year old child one, the fraud and the terminally ill - I would imagine the last two are pretty small groups.

If you have any specific questions I’m happy to send them up

Interesting, thanks.

I don’t really have any specific questions, just trying to work out what to expect in the next few months (as we’re based in Manchester).

I’m in Bristol! - while not advising myself I have a lot of adviser contacts here - some of whom will be posting here anyway - so will add any info I get from that :)

Charles - 26 April 2023 02:50 PM

Does anyone from other areas where it has already rolled out (e.g., Avon, Somerset and Gloucester in April) know how the roll out works in practice?

For example, do they start with claimants in one JCP area in the region? Or all of them at once? Is there a specific way in how they pick claimants at the start?

Only seen two so far here in Bristol. Both in same JCP cluster (Avon 2) but claimants’ addresses will be closer to 2 separate Jobcentre offices. Interested to know if there any advisers in Gloucester or Somerset areas who have seen any yet?

Daphne - were you still after a migration notice?

We have again been told that vulnerable claimants will not have legacy benefits stopped until a ‘panel’ has examined the case. Other than it will be locally based, we know no more at the moment.

Has anyone else heard of this? How will it all work? can we make representations to it (etc)?