Moving home &Universal Credit & ESA SG

Good afternoon,
Asking for my brother. His Housing associarion have offered him a new home so he does or have to pay bedroom tax. He get low care DLA, Support group ESA, HB and CTB. But we have questions please?
Been told moving will trigger a new claim for Universal Credit and he will have to wait for up to six weeks or so for the new claim to go through, is this correct?
What is he suppose to live on?
Been told his ESA will stop until it all comes under Universal Credit. Will be automatically be put back in Support group?
How can the government do this and expect venerable people, to live while the new Universal credit goes through?
Also been told he has to pay a months rent up front and can not get desecration housing benefit to cover this
Thank you

He was told his area of Gloucestershire moved over too UC two weeks ago. I don't know what to do to help him...

Lorraine wrote: He was told his area of Gloucestershire moved over too UC two weeks ago. I don't know what to do to help him...

Hi L,

Just because an area has become "UC Live" does not mean that all claimants in that area will be taken under the UC umbrella.

As Gordon has stated, UC is currently only for new simple claims anyway. People with disabilities on ESA, DLA/PIP are classed as complex claims and may not be taken over to UC for some years yet.

If he moves home, his ESA should continue, and there should be no reason to make a fresh claim at all.

Whoever told you that his ESA will stop is talking rubbish.

See this statement from Priti Patel Minister for Employment on 12/10/15 :

"Government financial forecasts published in December 2014 outlined expectations that the transition phase for all new Universal Credit (UC) benefit claims will complete by June 2018.

The NAO Welfare Reform Report on UC outlined that the bulk of existing benefit claims will be migrated to UC by 2020 with the exception of some tax credit and employment service allowance claims which would be migrated thereafter."

From : www.parliament.uk/business/publications/...ons/2015-10-12/11320

By the way, when she stated "employment service allowance claims" she actually meant Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims.

So she is stating that the bulk of "existing benefit claims will be migrated to UC by 2020" but goes on to exclude ESA, : "and employment service allowance claims which would be migrated thereafter." until sometime after 2020.

Many feel that even this projection is optimistic !

Another member asked a similar query : Here.

Even when current ESA recipients are eventually migrated over to UC, it will only be Income Related (IR) ESA recipients.

Claimants entitled to Contribution Based (CB) ESA will remain on that, it will just be called "New ESA" instead.

If you need help and advice, try some of the potential sources below :

Where to get advice

Or, try putting Welfare Rights/Advice for his Town/Postcode into Google.

You could also contact his M.P. for support :

Contacting your MP

If the DWP try to insist that he makes a claim for UC, you could challenge them in that he does not meet "The Gateway Conditions" for a UC claim, as he is currently entitled to ESA.

See this extract

"Eligibility

To claim Universal Credit you (and your partner if you have one) must:

• not be entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS), Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)"

9th option down Page 1 under "Eligibility in : This Document from : This Page.

bro58

Thank you so so much.mimhave sent this to my brother