Below is the content of an Internal memo passed to me by a "friendly" tenancy officer from the council, please note I have removed all names and sources to hide their identity.
For all those just waiting for the DWP to contact them I took the advice in the memo and put a request for payment on my journal stating why I qualified and received a payment within two weeks with ongoing transitional payments.
I do see as very worrying the qualifying criteria that has been set out for these payments, I hope this information is helpful for anyone who has lost out on UC.
New payments for those who lost their SDP when they moved onto UCSince 16th January 2019 the 'SDP Gateway Condition' has prevented those with a Severe Disability Premium in their IR-ESA, IS, IB-JSA or HB from having to claim UC. This means that they can retain their higher level of income on the legacy benefits system (there is no SDP in UC).
But many claimants lost their SDP by moving onto UC before this 'Gateway Condition' was introduced, and are worse off on UC than when they were on legacy benefits.
The government had proposed compensation for these claimants, but failed to introduce this at the time when the SDP Gateway was introduced in January.
Fortunately, new UC Regulations have now been laid which, amongst other things, allow for 'Transitional SDP Payments'.
For those entitled, there will be both a lump sum back payment to compensate them for the loss since making their claim for UC, plus an extra amount included in their UC award for each subsequent month they continue to meet the qualifying rules. There are set monthly amounts of either £120, £285 or £405, depending on the circumstances.
Who will be entitled?
Transitional SDP payments will be for those who:
- Have already moved onto UC through ‘natural migration’, and
- Lost out financially due to the loss of the Severe Disability Premium in an award of Income-Related ESA, Income-Based JSA or Income Support which ended within one month of the UC claim starting (NB. this list does NOT include HB), and
- Have had a continuous entitlement to UC and are on UC when the DWP review their claim – i.e. it cannot be paid for UC awards which have terminated before this date because the claimant ceased to meet conditions of entitlement, and
- Have not become or ceased to be a couple since moving onto UC, and
- Have had a continuous award of and are still entitled to the disability benefit which would have made them eligible for the SDP (i.e. the daily living component of PIP, middle or high care component of DLA, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance or Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance), and
- Their carer has not started to receive Carer’s Allowance or a Carer Element in their own UC for looking after them.
Important!
The Regulations state that unless the claimant meets certain criteria on the date their case 'comes to the attention of' the DWP they will receive no compensation – not even for the period during which they did meet those criteria!
i.e. no back payments will be awarded unless the claimant is also entitled to on-going Transitional SDP Payments.
So, for anyone who - since moving onto UC up to the present time - does satisfy all the above points - it is best if the DWP are made aware of their situation NOW!
There are no guarantees how quickly the DWP will process payments - or whether they will prioritise claimants who make requests, but we think it is a good idea for claimants to note on their journals that they fit all the criteria.
We would hope that this would protect their entitlement to Transitional SDP Payments up to the present time, even if something should change between the date they notify the DWP and the date the DWP check their case.
For example, if one member of a couple leaves their partner, or dies, between now and whenever their case is looked at, then they can argue that their case had already come to the attention of the DWP - and could argue that as per the Regulations, any Transitional SDP payments were applicable up to the date of separation / death.
