Migration from Legacy Benefits to UC
Problems
- Social care charges are increasing for many people eg. from £46 per week to over £100 per week when people are moved to UC.
People don’t know they need to inform council of being moved to UC as there is no change in income. Council should also be aware that people have moved to UC because when ESA stops old style Housing Benefit also stops and council should send out a letter plus Council Tax bill. BUT councils aren’t reassessing people’s care charges until they get in touch about something else by which time people affected have also got large arrears of care charges.
It isn’t clear why charges increase so much when people move to UC but we think some disability elements/premiums in ESA were disregarded. These no longer exist in UC. It’s also not clear if people are being left with the Minimum Income Guarantee and Disability Related Expenses as they should be.
2). Council Tax Reduction UC payments seem to be being treated differently then they were when people were claiming legacy benefits and people are now paying 40% of their Council Tax bills after single occupancy and disability disregards.
For people paying for social care Council Tax payments should be taken into account when assessing care charges but for those not using social care there is an increase in Council Tax payable of up to 40%.
3). Rent Increases When rent goes up the UC housing element also increases but the total people are paid stays the same so there is less money left to live on presumably because under Transitional Protection only the over all total of UC payments is protected. (and reduces year on year).
If you are affected by any of these issues following migration to UC we need to hear from you. Please send brief details to us at mail@dpac.uk.net
Please also let us know if you might be able to take a legal challenge with support from us. You would need to be eligible for legal aid. You can use https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid to assess your situation, which considers your disposable income, savings, property, and other assets.
Lost £200 in the move from old esa to UC because of so called deductions I was not informed about this by anyone including job centre staff they all said I would not lose anything this is disgusting I wish that my health would allow me to help you take it to court but unfortunately I am not able to do this for health reasons unless the court can be bought to me which is not practical
I am a disabled person they are using us and not given us the right sourse and take our kids and dont own up. I have been fighting my sons courer for 17 years now people And KCC.
Iv been caught by being told I have to pay 3 weeks rent from my own pocket aswell since moving from esa to uc it’s all .messed up and my finances are really hard as I was once getting paid every two weeks and I’m disabled you never seem to know about the losses and stuggles till you claim us so they lied to me aswell as others
I’ve tried emailing you but my message comes back as undeliverable. I have had my council tax discount reduced from 80% to 50%. Also, I was transferred from income based ESA to Universal Credit AND icontribution based ESA even though i have not worked for about 10 years. I have contacted my MP about this but have not had a reply yet.
I have been put in severe debt by migrating. HA said UC didn’t inform them and now say I owe full council tax which is backdated. HA had told me if my circumstances didn’t change then neither would my CTS. In addition, with help from Mental Health I work 2 days. This was permitted work and did not affect my benefits. CTS now deduct my wages and even said if I work less they will reconsider. I am in total despair as this debt also means I won’t get housed now abd I have no way of paying the 270 a month they want in Council tax. I have messaged DWP MP. Mr Timms who just replied telling me to message DWP. I did but no reply.