The National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) has written to the Work and Pensions Select Committee expressing its concern that vulnerable claimants are not safe in the hands of the DWP, as they are forced to attempt to migrate from employment and support allowance (ESA) to universal credit (UC). In their letter, NAWRA publish many case studies of claimants facing homelessness as a result of DWP failures.
A 62 year old claimant who had a brain injury and a stroke has two carers visiting four times a day and needs an interpreter. He was unable to manage the UC claim process and was offered no reasonable adjustments. His legacy benefits were stopped in July 2025 and he has now built up large rent arrears.
A claimant who lives with schizophrenia had his claim stopped for failing to attend a Jobcentre Plus interview to verify his ID, in spite of his sister helping him make the initial phone call to claim UC and explaining why he couldn’t do it himself. The claimant receives PIP for severe mental illness but with no other income is now facing eviction.
Another claimant with a history of being sectioned due to severe mental illness has a care package in place. She made two attempts to claim UC, but both were closed because she failed to verify her ID. Legal proceedings have now begun to evict her.
In none of the examples given by NAWRA did the DWP warn the local authority that a vulnerable claimant had had their legacy benefits stopped.
Yet on the same day that the NAWRA letter was published, the DWP sent out a press release headlined “Successful DWP campaign leads to closure of historical benefits”.
This trumpeted that “Two benefits designed decades ago will officially close today following the successful delivery of the Move to Universal Credit campaign by the Department for Work and Pensions.”
The DWP say that as part of their commitment to safeguarding vulnerable customers, they have extended the deadline for claiming UC for ESA and housing benefit claimants.
However, it is up to vulnerable claimants to request an extension of their deadline date, before the original deadline expires, something which many may be unable to do.
NAWRA is calling for automatic migration for the relatively small number of ESA claimants who have yet to make the move, improved safeguarding and for the DWP to have the courage to publish figures about how many cases have been terminated, especially where no benefit is in payment as a result.
You can read the NAWRA letter here
