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Migration from ESA to UC - are the DWP speeding this up?

ESABenefitsUK123

I read about a year ago that the timeframe of moving claimants from ESA to UC was being sped up. Previously, it was 2028/2029, but I wonder if that has now officially changed? I see in the ESA threads on this forum that quite a few people are asking about ESA to UC migration, and wondered if this is due to the DWP speeding up the migration process?

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Comments

Kimi87

Yes it's been sped up with an increasing number of letters being sent out each month.

The end date for migration is now December 2025. Anyone receiving a letter at the end will have until March 2026 to migrate.

ESABenefitsUK123

I am still on income based ESA, and in the support group. I was put in the support group in 2018, and have not had any kind of assessment/reassessment since then.
I am guessing that i will receive a UC migration letter sometime in 2025. i am guessing this letter will ask me to apply for UC.
Can someone please tell me, very roughly, what happens next? thanks.
Presumably it will be fairly simple, and not require me to fill out any large forms?
And also, very roughly, when might i be reassessed? Does the reassessment mean both a form to fill out, and also, an assessment itself?
Have face to face assessments been stopped now? will it likely be over the phone?
Thanks a lot.

Kimi87

There are lots of topics on the same subject here

https://forum.scope.org.uk/categories/universal-credit

Have a read through and familiarise yourself with the process, and come back with any specific questions.

Citizens Advice have a Help to Claim service

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/contact-us-about-universal-credit/

No one can say even roughly when you will be re assessed.

If on UC at the time you'll receive a letter on your Journal, followed by a UC50 form in the post.

If still on ESA then the form will arrive without prior notification.

You will then have an assessment via paper, face to face or telephone.

Re assessments have been suspended for the majority for several years now. Significant backlogs exist within the system and it's anyone's guess when they will resume at scale.

WhatThe

Yes and no..

This is the original planned timetable. It was postponed until 2028/9 then reverted to the original plan and UC migration was accelerated in May 2024.

poppy123456

The work capability assessment process for UC is the same as it was for ESA. Any potential review will be the same process as it was the first time. The only difference is the form will be UC50 rather than ESA50. They've been suspended for the majority of people since 2020, just after the pandemic started.

ESABenefitsUK123

BTW, I was on the phone to a DWP ESA help representative this morning, to enquire about another matter, and at the end of our conversation, I did mention "do you have any date on your system when I will be migrated over to UC", and the answer was "no, I don't know, there is nothing on our system to say when this might occur, it could occur at any time." Presumably however, it will happen reasonably soon - within say the next 11 months, or thereabouts…