We all welcomed the £20 weekly increase in payments for those claiming Universal Credit (and Working Tax Credit) introduced by the government at the start of lockdown last year - this was initially set to be in place for a year. However in his Spring Budget on 3rd March 2021, Rishi Sunak announced that the £20 increase in UC would remain in place for a further six months, until the end of September 2021 (with WTC claimants receiving a £500 lump sum payment). 

Despite calls for a further extension it is looking like this lifeline - that has helped so many - will be removed as planned, meaning that the majority of Universal Credit claimants will then see a reduction in their Standard Allowance of £20 per week (£86.67 per month) from October 2021.

You may remember that during 2020 there was an unprecedented number of claims made for Universal Credit and staff had to be re-deployed from other departments to process claims.

One of the measures put in place to enable as many claims as possible to be processed on time was that if someone was not able to have their identity verified online, their claim was processed anyway.

The DWP has started to follow up on these claims. They are contacting claimants, asking for documents to prove their identity. 

We have heard of one claimant who was unable to upload ID as requested because she is not IT literate, her daughter helps with her online claim and her daughter was isolating. Her claim was cancelled back to the start and she was left with a huge overpayment! She sought advice and she has made a new claim for UC. She is also challenging the decision to cancel her previous claim.

Top tips

• It is always worth reminding claimants to watch out for, and respond promptly to, messages on their journal (or letters or text messages if they have an offline claim).
• Remember that claimants should be given one month from the date of request to provide evidence; extra time should be allowed if reasonable and the claimant requests this. If someone's UC claim is closed before the appropriate time limit has been allowed this would be grounds for challenging that decision.
• And if somebody does not have documents to prove their ID, the DWP can (and should) ask some biographical questions instead. 

The government's contract with the Post Office to provide Post Office Card Accounts ends in November 2021. So, the DWP has been asking those who have their benefits (including State Pension) paid into a Post Office Card Account to provide details of an alternative bank, building society or credit union account. 

Claimants need to ring the DWP Customer Service centre on 0800 085 7133 to provide new account details.

Those who have not provided new account details will start to receive their payments via the Payment Exception service instead. This new arrangement will start from the end of August 2021.

The extra £20 per week in UC was one of the factors in working out whether someone could be better off on Universal Credit. As there was no £20 uplift in ESA / JSA / Income Support or Child Tax Credit, some working age claimants opted for UC instead.

Now that the £20 Coronavirus uplift is disappearing, fewer people will be financially better off if they claim UC, when compared with their legacy benefits.  Some could still be better off though (and some could be worse off) so it is worth checking.

Remember:

• Only certain changes in circumstances trigger the need for someone to claim UC.
• There is a lot of poor advice and information out there, so whist someone doesn't want to delay claiming if UC is their only option, it is always best if they check that this is their only option - some claimants can be over £100 a week worse off on UC. You can use our Need2Claim UC tool - see below.
• Once someone has hit the 'submit' claim button, there is no going back - so claimants need to be sure they want to claim UC and it is the best option for them.
• Always do a thorough check - you can use our UC calculator to estimate what they could get on UC and email us at info@housingsystems.co.uk if you are not sure.
• Think about future changes that could affect the award - will they still be better off afterwards?
• Ask if the claimant has any deductions or other debts that could be taken from their UC award - whilst the rate of recovery under UC is better than it was - many of these are set at a higher rate under UC and are non-negotiable. Take these into account when working out whether they'd be better off.

Question - We have a 63 year old tenant who is transferring tenancies from a general needs house into a sheltered property in the same local authority area. She does not need much support - so we don't think she will count as living in specified accommodation. She gets Income Related ESA, Housing Benefit and Personal Independence Payment. 
Will she have to claim Universal Credit?  

Answer - She does not need to claim UC if she is on Housing Benefit already and she is moving within the same LA area. The move is just a 'change of circumstances' and her existing HB claim can continue for the new address.
She will need to notify both the HB office and the ESA dept as soon as she moves.  
There is no need for her to claim UC - but there is nothing to stop her from claiming either! So watch out - as UC might not be the best option for her. If she does claim UC, both her ESA and HB will end!

Question - My customer claimed UC nearly two years ago and has waited this long for a Work Capability Assessment to be completed. She has been found to have a limited capability for work & work related activities. The LCWRA Element has been added to her award and she is also owed over £6800 in back pay. However, the DWP are now saying she cannot have any of this - it has to be used to clear other DWP debts. Can they do this?

Answer - No, that is not correct!
The DWP guidance says,
"as a matter of policy arrears are not withheld if the following circumstances apply....where a payment is made at a ‘safe rate’ which excludes a particular component of the claim pending verification (for example, verification of housing costs/rent, Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) arrears due from the start of the claim), then once that component has been verified we would not withhold those arrears against outstanding debts."

The claimant should raise a complaint about this and request the payment is made to her. This may mean that the overpayment/s is recovered from on-going deductions instead.

You could contact the DWP Partnership Manager in case they can help too.

It might also be worth contacting CPAG's Early Warning System about this – they are interested in where UC is not working correctly for claimants.