UK government discriminated against people left worse off by universal credit, say judges.

This is the continuing battle by claimants who moved onto UC before 16th January 2019 and were worse off due to the loss of the Severe Disability Premium*.

They won their previous battle when the Judge agreed that they had been discriminated against. Following that decision the government introduced a compensation payment scheme for certain disabled claimants made worse off by UC, and also put in place the SDP Gateway condition to prevent some claimants from making new claims for UC (unless part of the managed migration scheme - when their level of benefits would be protected by the addition of a Transtional Element).

However, the compensation paid to those claimants who had claimed UC worked out less than the Transtional Element that will be given to those left on legacy benefits who move onto UC by managed migration some time in the future. So the claimants took their case further.

The outcome of this recent appeal is that the government's 'fix' has been found to discriminatory due to the lower compensation given to those claimants on UC, despite their needs being the same.

The DWP has seven days to decide whether to continue its attempt to overturn judgments by applying to the supreme court. A DWP spokesperson said: “We will continue to make transitional payments to those previously receiving the severe disability premium where eligible, and have already paid £51.5m to more than 15,000 people. We are carefully considering this judgment.”

*The Severe Disability Premium is an additional premium that can be included when a claimant's IR-ESA, IB-JSA, IS and HB (and Pension Credit) is assessed. It is aimed specifically at meeting the additional care needs and costs of severely disabled people 'living alone' with no carer. Universal Credit does not have the equivalent Element.

Click here for more information on the SDP Gateway Condition.

Click here for more information on the Transitional SDP Protection Payment