Dear colleague,

I wanted to share a recent Universal Credit case, which began as a housing costs query but uncovered much wider losses for a severely disabled claimant. It is a useful reminder that, in migration cases, the presenting issue may be only part of the problem.

Case

I am currently assisting four disabled adults who moved to Universal Credit, within the last year, from income-related ESA and Housing Benefit. Neither one wished to transfer to Universal Credit as they were happy claiming ESA and Housing Benefit. The initial issue was that their “housing costs” were being paid at a rate less than their share of the contractual rent. Before transfer, they had received from Housing Benefit the two-bedroom LHA rate, due to an earlier intervention by me.

As the UC rules effectively replicate housing benefits, each claimant met the conditions for an additional bedroom as they all relied on the services of an overnight carer to keep them safe and provide support, where necessary. If accepted by DWP, each award should be increased by around £100 per month, backdated to the start of their award, one year ago. But the more significant issue was a wider underpayment in one claimant’s legacy benefits.

Severe Disability premium

In that case, the claimant appears to have been missing the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) in ESA since at least 2017. At current rates, that points to a substantial historic loss, and DWP is considering whether the ESA award should be revised on “official error” grounds back to the start of the original claim.

If the missing SDP position is accepted, there is also a strong argument for backdated UC transitional protection, and possibly the higher transitional amount introduced for some former SDP claimants from February 2024.

HB Overpayment

The same claimant was also asked to repay a significant Housing Benefit overpayment, which appears to have arisen because Housing Benefit was not stopped promptly when the UC claim began. DWP failed to send the administering council the statutory “Stop Notice,” causing HB to continue.  That raises questions about what actually caused the overpayment. Based on what we know, it would appear to be an “official error”. If so, recovery attempts by the Council or DWP on its behalf could be successfully challenged and quashed.

Is this case a one-off?

Highly unlikely, as former ESA claimants with severe disability additions were always among the group most likely to lose out on moving to UC. So, these cases merit a full benefit audit rather than a narrow response to the initial referral.

Is it possible to remedy these historic errors?

Potential routes to full compensation include “revision” of the legacy ESA award, payment of full arrears of any missing severe disability premium, addition or revision of the UC transitional SDP element, consideration of the increased transitional amount from February 2024 where relevant, and challenge to any Housing Benefit overpayment rooted in official error.

Mandatory reconsideration and appeal rights should also be considered promptly where decisions are disputed. The key point is that where a severely disabled claimant has moved to UC, it is worth checking the full legacy award history, transitional protection position, and any linked overpayment decision. In the right case, that may lead to substantial arrears and a much fuller remedy than that first presented.

For these reasons, members may wish to review recent UC migration cases involving severely disabled former ESA claimants to check for missing disability premiums, lost transitional protection and questionable overpayment decisions. If you identify similar patterns, raise them with your welfare rights or financial inclusion staff, so we can build a clearer picture of the scale of the problem and the most effective routes to redress. Where necessary, we can also assist.

If you require further information on this or any other related topic, please drop me an email bill@ucadvice.co.uk or phone 07733 080 389.

Regards

Bill Irvine

UC Advice & Advocacy Ltd