‘Managed migration’ is the final phase of the rollout of Universal Credit, when the DWP - in a controlled way - gradually contact those who are still claiming legacy benefits to notify them that those benefits will be ending, and inviting them to claim Universal Credit instead.
The first cohort of Migration Notices were issued in May 2022 in Bolton and Medway as part of the DWP's managed migration Discovery work. This Discovery work is focused on learning what works and developing the managed migration service going forward to ensure the majority of legacy benefit claimants make a successful move onto UC.
DWP have now produced their initial findings.
Supporting vulnerable claimants
Although DWP refer to this process as ‘managed migration’, every individual will - on receiving a Migration Notice - need to make a claim themselves to move to UC. Failure to do so within set time limits will result in the claimant's legacy benefit awards being terminated. There is obvious concern that some vulnerable claimants may struggle with this process and be left with no income. The report outlines the support being given to these claimants and confirms that, for this first cohort, no ESA claimant has had their benefits stopped yet.
Proposed timetable
This report also outlines the proposed plan for the roll out of managed migration:
During 2023/24 - Tax Credit only cases
During 2024/25 - Income-Related ESA with Tax Credits, Income Support, Income Based JSA, HB only or with Tax Credits
During 2028/29 - All other Income-Related ESA cases
Other keys findings in the report:
1 - 51 households had their legacy benefits terminated two months ago but have not claimed UC. Almost all of these (49) were Tax Credit only claimants and the DWP suggest they haven't claimed because they don't realise they're entitled or don't think a claim is worth it. It's possible that they have savings above £16,000 and don't realise that there's a special transitional protection for Tax Credit claimants who received a migration notice OR (like many) they may incorrectly think they earn too much to be entitled to UC
2 - 30% of calls made to the helpline were from claimants who did not feel able to make an online claim (either because they don't have WiFi or an appropriate device, or they don't have IT skills). 14% of UC claims made were telephone claims (i.e. 'offline'). The issues of digital inclusion and UC have been discussed since it was first introduced. For some the transition to an online claim will be daunting. Telephone claims for UC are possible but the DWP like to avoid them and there can be some disadvantages for claimants
3 - 50% of households who have received a UC statement (i.e. claimed over a month ago) were entitled to Transitional Protection meaning they're entitled to less UC than they were legacy benefits. This will be 'eroded' by the annual uprating of benefits in April and can also be eroded by other changes, such as a rent increase.
4 - in 2023/24, the Managed Migration process will focus on Tax Credit only claimants and the DWP will be looking to scale this early 2023/24. This will probably mean claimants in new areas will start to receive Migration Notices before summer. We expect the DWP will make their specific plans known before issuing notices, but focus should be on Tax Credit only claimants for the time being. These claimants are more likely to be confident making online claims but should still seek advice about the timing of the UC claimand maximising their income before they claim.
For the full report - click here.