On new style ESA

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Jacdoc

hi I recently recieved an upgrade for pip to enhaced for daily living I then approached dwp from adviser  advice to claim disability premium only payable if you recieved enhanced pip .I'am in receipt of Contribution  Esa also in the support group and do not claim housing or council tax rebate so no income related Esa .I contatced dwp to see when they where going to update my benefit claim to have the £16.80 and to also backdate it ..I recieved a letter stating that as I'am on new style Esa even though I have no correspondence to say so .when was the new style esa intoduced and why do all my letters say Contibution based Esa. To let you understand I had nevermade a  claim a for benefit my whole life and was given the total runaround and was even put on universal credit to begin with so whole thing only got sorted out after a whole year of going round the houses in the wrong direction. yours sincerely j

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

I'm one of the community champions here on scope and i'm here to help and advise others.

New style ESA started in about 2016, for some people.  The reason it doesn't tell you it's new style on your award is because new style is the same as Contributions based ESA but you can't receive any income related top ups on New style ESA like you could with the old Contributions based ESA.

As you're already in the Support Group then if the Enhanced disability premium was payable it will have automatically been added to your claim. That letter is an old letter as the support group rate from April 2019 is £111.65 per week.

When claiming New style ESA to receive the top up then you'll need to claim Universal Credit BUT whether you're entitled to this will depend on your circumstances. Living with a partner that works, savings, capital and any pensions will all affect the amount you're entitled to. As it's a means tested benefit then you would need to claim as a couple. Your New style ESA award will be honoured in UC and you'll receive the extra LCWRA element from the start of your claim. The New style ESA will still be paid as normal but it will be deducted £1 for £1 from your UC amount.

Is there any reason why you don't claim council tax reduction? is it because of household income/savings? Council tax reduction needs to be claimed from your local council.

Hope this helps.