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Esa support group
hello20
Member Posts: 93 Connected
Hello I was in esa claim for 3 years support group my partner was on the claim she moved out an claimed uc We recently decided to get bck together an esa said I need to claim on her uc but I’m already claiming income support esa support group an was recently had Assasemnt an put on support group can they not put my partner on my claim why do I need go on uc an will they pay my support group element on it will I need to be re assessed
Replies
Scope community team
Unfortunately, what you have been told is correct. You can't add your partner to your ESA claim and will instead have to make a joint claim for UC.
When you are added to her UC claim, you need to be clear you already have a determined award for ESA and are in the support group. They should then put you in the relevant group on Universal Credit which is LCWRA. Moving to Universal Credit shouldn't prompt a reassessment.
I hope that helps but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Scope
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hope you got it sorted!!!!
G
The advice from Adrian is correct. Unfortunately you do have to claim UC in a situation where a partner who is on UC moves in with you.
However, if you're already in the support group & getting ESA on the day your UC starts, then you should get an LCWRA (limited capability for work-related activity) element from day one of your UC claim. This is like the support component in ESA, but a bit higher. You don't get any other disability premiums in UC, so it's well worth making sure UC get this right and include the LCWRA element in your first award.
If you were claiming UC without having an LCW or LCWRA decision, or you were not on ESA on the day you moved to UC, then you'd have to present sick notes to have a work capability assessment. The problem is that UC will often seek to carry out a new work capability assessment, whether or not you already have an LCW or LCWRA decision. As Poppy suggests, sometimes this could happen because you've submitted sick notes even though technically you didn't need to (because you already had a valid LCW/LCWRA decision). But unfortunately it can happen anyway - the law makes it clear that the DWP have the power to reassess you at any time, even if you already have an LCW or LCWRA decision.
So to summarise - if you move to UC directly from ESA and you're in the support group, you should get your LCWRA element in your first award, and you won't have any work-related requirements (you shouldn't have to attend interviews at the Jobcentre once your UC award has been set up). If you get PIP daily living or DLA middle or higher rate care and your partner cares for you, then she may not have any work-related requirements either, and could get a carer element added to the award. She'd need to be caring for you for 35 hours a week. She doesn't have to claim carer's allowance (if she does, this will come off the UC award £1 for £1 so overall it's the same amount of money).
Will
It sounds as if you may be entitled to arrears of the LCWRA element going back to the beginning of your UC claim. This would apply if there was no gap between your ESA and your UC (your UC award star started on a day you were entitled to ESA in the support group).
If that applies to you, ask UC for a mandatory reconsideration. The regulation which means you should be entitled to the LCWRA element from day 1 of your UC claim is Reg 19 of the UC (transitional provisions) Regs 2014. As Poppy says, UC have had very poor training on this issue and it seems to keep happening!
Will
It sounds as if you may be entitled to arrears of the LCWRA element going back to the beginning of your UC claim. This would apply if there was no gap between your ESA and your UC (your UC award star started on a day you were entitled to ESA in the support group).
If that applies to you, ask UC for a mandatory reconsideration. The regulation which means you should be entitled to the LCWRA element from day 1 of your UC claim is Reg 19 of the UC (transitional provisions) Regs 2014. As Poppy says, UC have had very poor training on this issue and it seems to keep happening!
Will
Thank you so much for this I’m going to message them now!!
G
G x
you really should have told them / reported that to them before they found out, so now you will have to start a new uc claim as a couple you can’t add her to your ESA that’s for sure.
Hope you get sorted!!
G x
im on living allowance, lcwra, child allowance and my rents paid, - I’m over £1200 a month but it’s mainly due to me having my boy and my health. My friend and her partner are on £644 roughly no kids tho and she doesn’t get her support allowance. There are 2 support groups yours is the lower rate, mines is lcwra high rate.
Scope community team
On UC you should receive the standard allowance of £498.89 (assuming at least one of you is over 25) and then your ESA will transfer to UC so you'll also receive the LCWRA rate of £336.20.
So: 498.89 + 336.20 = £835.09 per month.
If you are receiving contribution-based ESA you will continue to receive this separately and the amount will be deducted from the monthly UC award.
Scope
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Total is 2750.18 per month
all in with all I’m entitled too, uc elements lcwra child payment pip child benefits, his maintenance and his arrears - my son gets extra because his dad doesn’t want to see him caused him a health condition- proven in hospital he was the cause but doesn’t care never in touch no birthdays Christmases etc he goes on holiday to get away, but earns 500 per week cash in hand, paid him once 10.00 so it was taken to court and he was ordered to pay back his years of arrears since he was 14 months old- when we split due to him throwing me down the stairs whilst holding my son- with his normal maintenance payments- which are high because he is a high earner also because of all the stress injuries and trauma he caused us both, but his nan pays me for it as she is the only side of the family that cares and she’s well off - got 44 homes around the world and lives in LA four months of the year, Dubai 2 months then here the other 6....so nothing to her at all- rent paid, council tax paid, is this correct?? Could you just reassure me plz as I just want to make sure everything is as it should be!! Thank you for everything and your time xx G
Scope community team
I'll break these down a bit;
Council tax: Every council runs their Council Tax Support in their own way so it's impossible for me to say for certain whether your full council tax should be met (or disregarded) but it wouldn't be unheard of.
Child Maintenance: This is disregarded as income so doesn't affect any of your other benefits. However, some councils do include it when working out Council Tax Support so ensure you've declared it to your local council. I don't know if it being paid by the nan rather than your son's father makes any difference but if you've declared it and they've said it counts as maintenance even though it's her paying it, then that should be fine.
PIP and Child Benefit: Both of these are disregarded as income so don't affect your Universal Credit. Child benefit — you've given a 5 week amount, it's £20.70 per week and some month's there'll only be 4 weeks. The PIP amount depends on what rate you're getting.
Universal Credit:
It sounds like you're receiving:
£317.82 - Standard single person allowance for over 25s
£336.20 - LCWRA
£277.08 - 1st child (born pre-April 2017)
£564.94 - Rent
Assuming your rent amount is correct, you're 25 (or over) and only have one child, this looks right to me.
I hope that answers some of your questions but if I've missed anything or not explained it clearly, please don't hesitate to ask.
Scope
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thank you Adrian for the help an support
tinker bella44 was your friend on income related esa was she not awarded her support group when she added her partner in the uc account as they should offer this like poppy an Adrian have said by looking at previous posts