ESA & Universal Credit

TeddyB22

I got a letter which was dictated down the phone to me by my brother from a previous address that well troubles me.
Seems after switching to UC they have taken my enhanced disability premium off me. I fought long and hard to get it and now it's gone. Seems unfair that I lose this lifeline (It means my Hb shortfall is now double) just because I went on to UC. I wasn't told this would happen or noticed anyone else mention it.
Can I appeal this? Who can I speak to. I was told at the UC meeting that I won't have to attend work assessments due to my condition.
Any help would be most welcome.
TeddyB22

April2018mom

You can find more information on ESA here 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/

Or you can call/email asking to talk with a benefit advisor. 

poppy123456

Hi,

The disability premiums do not exist for UC. I see from a previous thread that you were in the Support Group when you were claiming ESA, is this correct? If it is then for UC you should be receiving the following in your monthly payment.

Standard allowance.. £251.77 if under 25 or £317.82 if over 25

LCWRA element £336.20

and your housing element, which will be shared rate if under 35  or 1 bedroom rate if over 35. If under 35 and claim daily living award PIP then you'll receive the 1 bedroom rate of LHA. Put your postcode into this link and it will tell you what your LHA is for your area, https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Please check your online journal to see exactly what elements you're receiving.

I do believe you were waiting for a Tribunal hearing, have you had a decision on that yet?

TeddyB22

No word back about a tribunal date Poppy. I did get a letter confirming my adjournment and that they were trying to expedite the case. 
So to confirm I no longer receive a fortnightly sum of £254 but £336.20 per month?

hello20

May I ask was your support group awarded as lcwra automatically or did u have to ask for it to be added any advise will help as I’m on support group esa an applied Uc due to change of circumstance

TeddyB22

I haven't received anything yet. I last got ESA 2 days ago and it was without the enhanced premium.
Seems I am around £44 per week out of pocket now. Scandalous that they were allowed to do this and the MP's who voted for it should be ashamed. I don't know how I'll cope. No wonder so many people have killed themselves. This government is evil. Hopefully Labour will get in and do away with this cruel system.

poppy123456

TeddyB22 said:

I haven't received anything yet. I last got ESA 2 days ago and it was without the enhanced premium.
Seems I am around £44 per week out of pocket now. Scandalous that they were allowed to do this and the MP's who voted for it should be ashamed. I don't know how I'll cope. No wonder so many people have killed themselves. This government is evil. Hopefully Labour will get in and do away with this cruel system.

Before you claimed UC were you claiming Contributions based ESA with an income related top up? It sounds like you were because otherwise you shouldn't still be receiving your ESA payments fortnightly.

If your ESA was all income related then this should have stopped when you claimed UC. Your UC monthly payments will be as follows.

Standard allowance.. £251.77 if under 25 or £317.82 if over 25

LCWRA element £336.20

Then you'll receive your housing element on top of this.

If your ESA was contributions based with an income related top up then the contributions based will continue to paid fortnightly and you'll receive £223.30. This will then be deducted from your UC payments and your UC amounts will be as follows.

Standard allowance.. £251.77 if under 25 or £317.82 if over 25

LCWRA element £336.20

Then you'll receive your housing element on top of this.

They will then deduct £483 per month from your UC amounts because your ESA is deducted £1 for £1 from your UC.

Check your LHA with the link i posted above and it will tell you what you should be claiming for your rent. As you don't have a PIP daily living award and you're under 35 it will be the shared rate of LHA that you'll receive.

TeddyB22

Hi Poppy. Thanks for breaking that down for me.
Why does UC deduct £483 when my ESA is £446 per month?

poppy123456

No problem. Because ESA is a weekly benefit and UC is monthly. To work out what's deducted you do the following...

£111.65 x 52 =£5,805 divided by 12 to get the monthly amount = £483.81 per month.

TeddyB22

Thanks alot for that. I was never any good at maths. I still can't get my head around fractions.
I've tried to use the LHA tool but it just keeps coming up with errors. Because I'm over 35 and single I'll probably receive the one bed rate. I've also applied to the descretionary fund. Every little helps.
Take care.

poppy123456

You're welcome.

When using the LHA link if you put both your post code and local council then it will come up with errors. Just put your postcode and leave the local council blank and then it will work. I've just used it and it worked for me. Remember when using that it will be the weekly rate and you'll need to convert to monthly for UC.

Good luck with the DHP.

TeddyB22

Hi Poppy, one more question. Do I make a claim for rates? I don't think they're included.

poppy123456

Rates? Do you mean council tax reduction? If so then yes you need to claim this from your local council. All local councils have their own rules for this and i wouldn't be able to give you any further advice regarding this.

TeddyB22

I'm really depressed about the whole thing. I get forced out of my home, the Housing Executive do nothing for me for 9 months and the same week as I sign a contract and pay out £1000 they give me an offer. Brand new apartment. No shortfall. I would have been getting £127 with my disability premium but now I'm in private rental on Universal Credit and after I pay my rent I'll have £71 to live on. Can't pay for oil to heat the house, I had to take on debt, food and little things like dog food, Internet. I don't think I can do it. 
Why must I be punished just bc I switched to UC? It's ridiculous. This government is evil incarnate. And the frustrating thng is they will be voted straight back 8n again. How can I be £57 worse off per week?
Sorry for ranting but its just so sad. And bc of the soft touch I am I lend my brother (I'll never see it again) £500 of my £650 advance payment bc he was suspended from work. He treated me like dirt the time I stayed with him but is my best friend when he wants money. Why do I do it? I'll not get PIP either, I know this. There is no way out. 

poppy123456

That's sod's law that you were offered the apartment after you signed the contract. However, you would still have needed to claim UC for the housing element.

Are you receiving the LCWRA element in with your UC payment? Please do check that. If you are then the reason for the shortfall will be because your rent exceeds the amount you can claim for housing element.

LCWRA under UC actually pays more than Support Group for ESA, if you do the calculations correctly. You're not receiving any less for UC LCWRA, even though you're not receiving the Enhanced disability premium.

It's certainly not easy living alone, which is what i advised before you found the flat you're living in now.

For your PIP Tribunal decision you can't really speculate anything at this point, Tribunal are a lot more understanding than DWP and the health assessment providers.

As for family, sometimes we just have to be firm and say no, then walk away. It can be difficult but sometimes needs must, as i found out myself many times.

It's really important that you check your UC journal to see if they've added the LCWRA element. Please do let me know once you've checked because you haven't answered this question yet.

TeddyB22

Thanks as always for your reply Poppy. Coming here always helps me and I mean that sincerely. I will keep logging into mu UC account and I will let you know if they've included the lcwra. 
Take care. 

poppy123456

You're welcome. If you've already received one UC payment and the LCWRA wasn't included then i'd advise you to ring your case manager and ask them to send the MPG1 form to ESA, otherwise you may not have this element added again and you'll spend another month struggle on limited money.

TeddyB22

Hi Poppy. 
I got the advanced payment that I have to pay back but it does not say what the payment are made up of. I guess I'll find out soon enough. 
Ty. 

poppy123456

It should tell you on your journal what your payments are and what elements are included.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @poppy123456. Unfortunately, it doesn't show you until after your first assessment period what's included or how much you can expect to receive. @TeddyB22, once your statement is available, you'll find this under the 'payments' section and it should break down all the different elements and what is included. 

TeddyB22

I got my first payment statement and it says my first payment will be £204. 2 weeks later it will be another £204.
My deductions were as follows
£56 for the a dvanced payment.
£24 because I was in receipt of ESA when I made my claim (?? I don't understand this. Will this be every month?).
You tend to get carried away by these online benefits calculators. They had me better off by about £90. In reality when I've paid my rent I'm not any better off.
I was refused a 2 bedroom rate bc despite being told at my meeting I qualified (an extra room for emotional support).
Nothing for rates or Descretionary payment. My shortfall is & 138 per month.
So much riding on my PIP Tribunal now. I don't want to gety hopes up though. My medical notes don't mention anything about my anxiety, depression or social phobias.
Ps My appeal is on 26th November. 
TeddyB22