Universal credit SDP

aylasnan

Hi I have the chance of a council bungalow with the level access shower I need and I have to decide by 8am Monday morning. Ive just seen I will lose my severe disability premium as moving from ESA support group into a full UC area. Read that an amendment in June 2018 says I wont have to go on UC until the managed migration takes over but is this true? The new housing association insists I must apply for UC. Please help?

livonia

Is it a different local authority? If so that’s why yu have to apply for uc for housing element. 

If its same authorityyucan stay on hb. 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi @aylasnan

what you have read is correct. The DWP have excluded those with SDPs from claiming UC for the moment, even in full-service areas, therefore you will not be eligible to claim UC and will remain on legacy benefits.

The new Housing Association is not responsible for what benefits you are on, so my advice is just make the new HB claim. With ESA it will just be a change of address.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have further issues.

Mary

livonia

Hi Mary do yu have a link at all that we cd use to evidence this ? I ask not because I don’t believe you but so I cd use to facilitate any requests I get to apply for uc when I move. I’m expecting to move local authority areas in next six months yu see and all the information I’ve been given including citizens advice is that nothing has been confirmed formally with dwp rules regs . Although they indicated back in summer an intention that those of us in receipt of sdp wouldn’t be moved to uc.

I’m talking about having a change of circumstances (new local authority) not migration as so far I’ve had nothing about being migrated from 2019 onwards.

also I’ve had a letter saying that the way my council tax rebate is calculated  will be changing and it sounds like only band a will be paid in full and rest of bands yu have to find the shortfall yourself anyone else heard about this. Something else the govt have snuck in I presume because they have reduced subsidies to district councils ?

aylasnan

Thankyou! @Chatterbox .. I really hope this is the case. Ive had so many say its not though including ESA people that I too would like a link etc to show as proof? @poppy123456 interesting..

poppy123456

Hi Mary,

Do you have a link for this please? The reason i ask is because i don't believe that this change has actually taken place yet because no further announcements have been made. I'm going to tag someone that's very knowledgeable with all of this and will be very interested to see what he has to say.

@Username_removed please can you advise here? as i don't believe the changes have taken place yet for those currently claiming SDP if a change of circumstances prompts a move to UC, they still have to move regardless of claiming the SDP?

livonia

Any updates please

poppy123456

No, no further announcements have been made since June 2018 and the changes are not yet in place.

poppy123456

I am waiting for the changes to take place myself so that i have a wider area of choice to move house, otherwise i'm stuck with the same local council because i would have to claim UC, even though i also claim SDP.

livonia

So they have to be approved in parliament? Has anyone been refused uc when system flags they in receipt of sdp ?

poppy123456

livonia said:

So they have to be approved in parliament? Has anyone been refused uc when system flags they in receipt of sdp ?

That's correct and that hasn't happened yet. Nope, not as far as i know because the changes haven't taken place yet so there's nothing to flag.

poppy123456

livonia said:

also I’ve had a letter saying that the way my council tax rebate is calculated  will be changing and it sounds like only band a will be paid in full and rest of bands yu have to find the shortfall yourself anyone else heard about this. Something else the govt have snuck in I presume because they have reduced subsidies to district councils ?

All local councils have their own criteria for CTR.

livonia

True yes I know however they usually only do drastic changes when their subsidy reduced by govt 

aylasnan

@BenefitsTrainingCo @Username_removed
Any official links or confirmation on the above please??

poppy123456

It's as i first thought and my advice was indeed correct, there's no changes in place yet and those that are currently receiving the SDP will still have to change to UC if a change of circumstances happen and their area is a full UC area.

Confirmed in this link.https://www.housingsystems.co.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Briefings/2018/02-2018 Transitional SDP Payment v2.pdf?ver=2 018-07-06-105554-370&ver=2018-07-06-105554-370

aylasnan

Sadly clear as mud. Was also written before June announcement. Still hoping Mary is right.. we have to have hope..

poppy123456

It has to be approved and it hasn't as yet. Nothing we can do but wait that further announcement.

poppy123456

5th paragraph in this link. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal-Credit-Pilot

aylasnan

So as per paragraph 5 if we want to move now and CANNOT claim UC that would support what the housing benefits officer told me and Mary agreed with... that we stay on ESA and claim housing benefit

poppy123456

aylasnan said:

So as per paragraph 5 if we want to move now and CANNOT claim UC that would support what the housing benefits officer told me and Mary agreed with... that we stay on ESA and claim housing benefit

I'm not sure where you read that in that link i posted but paragraph 5 reads this... copied from the link above.

Things will also be a little different for those receiving the Severe Disability Premium (see our guide to SDP). The government announced in June 2018 that the rules will be changed to exclude anyone in this group from making a new claim for Universal Credit until something called transitional protection is in place for them. Theses rules have not yet been put in place but we will update this guide when the details are announced.

Until it's changed you can only stay on ESA and claiming housing benefit if you stay with the same local council. Which is the reason why i can't move to a different local council until the rules have been changed.

aylasnan

It says it will exclude anyone making a UC claim sooo if we do move to UC area now what happens? ... cant claim UC so what do we claim ?????