Advice NI publish research as Quarter of million ‘legacy’ benefit claims in NI set to be ‘moved’ to Universal Credit

Move to UC’ refers to the UK government’s plan to move ‘legacy’ benefit claimants on to Universal Credit. ‘Legacy’ benefits refer to those working age means-tested benefits that are to be replaced by UC including tax credits, Housing Benefit, Income Support income-based Jobseekers Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

Advice NI’s research report Move to UC – Get ready  highlights the concerns of advice sector advisers, and benefit claimants around the upcoming migration to Universal Credit (UC) and makes recommendations aimed at mitigating negative impacts, especially for the most vulnerable.

Speaking at the launch of the research, Kevin Higgins, Head of Policy, Advice NI said:

“This is an incredibly complex and far-reaching process, with many thousands of people with over 250,000 separate benefit awards set to be affected by ‘Move to UC’. In order to help ensure that advisers, Department for Communities and most importantly claimants are ready, we decided to conduct this piece of research, gathering insights into potential fears of claimants who will be affected, collating the experiences of current UC claimants and making sensible, practical recommendations which will help to ensure that people are effectively supported through the process.

“UC is like no other benefit we have seen before. It is a digital benefit which means people must apply for and manage their claim online. That will require claimants to have a level of digital skills as well as access to the Internet and a digital device. This will be a challenge for many. Other challenges involve the monthly Assessment Period, the five week wait for the first payment, the claimant commitment with ongoing conditionality and risk of sanctions.

“Our research found that independent advisers were worried about how claimants would manage financially and about them falling into debt and rent arrears. They were also worried about how people with poor digital skills or Internet access would handle the online nature of UC.”

In response to these findings, Advice NI has proposed a number of recommendations, many of which can be implemented without any cost. For example, ensuring people are made fully aware of and have easy access to all the financial support available; clearly cautioning that some of this support is in the form of a loan that must be repaid; increasing awareness of options to waive or write-off recovery of existing benefit debt; and creating real-time access to UC staff so that independent advisers can escalate urgent cases immediately.

Kevin Higgins, Advice NI continued:

“We know that ‘Move to UC’ has started, but it is phased and that means not everybody will be moved over right away.

“We also know that some claimants may now be thinking about whether they should move to Universal Credit before they receive their ‘Migration Notice’: our clear message is ‘don’t gamble on Universal Credit’. Comparing the amount of money someone would receive on Universal Credit as opposed to their current ‘legacy’ benefit(s) is often a complicated task, but there are some fundamental truths:

• While some people may be entitled to more money under Universal Credit than they receive in the ‘legacy’ benefits system, others will be entitled to less;
• People who voluntarily move from ‘legacy’ benefits to Universal Credit and find themselves worse off will not be able to return to their ‘legacy’ benefits and will simply be expected to cope with the loss of income at a time when the cost of living is steadily rising;
• People who wait until they receive their ‘Migration Notice’ will automatically avail of ‘Transitional Protection’ —a top-up payment to a claimant’s Universal Credit award to ensure that their award is equal to the amount they were receiving in the legacy system— should they find themselves in a position where they would be worse off.”

Anyone who is not sure about what UC will mean for them or what support is available, can seek independent advice by going to their local advice centre or calling the Advice NI FREEPHONE advice helpline 0800 915 4604.

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Notes:

1. Press Contact - Kevin Higgins, Head of Policy, Advice NI on 028 9064 5919 / 07743496957.
2. Advice NI is the umbrella body for the Independent Advice Network in Northern Ireland. In 2021/22 Advice NI and its members dealt with 241,000 enquiries, the majority being social security benefits related.
3. Advice NI Move to UC – Get Ready Report
4. ‘Move to UC’ Briefing Paper: Move to Universal Credit - September 2022 | Advice NI
5. To find out more about the work of the Independent Advice Network or to obtain copies of the various publications produced by Advice NI, please contact us at 028 90 645919, email comms@adviceni.net or visit our www.adviceni.net
6. Advice NI can also offer UC awareness sessions for organisations who may wish their staff to be more informed about ‘Move to UC’ or would like to raise awareness amongst their service users. You can register through our expression of interest form.
7. You can view a recording of the live stream of our Move to UC: Get Ready event that took place at Stormont on 4 May 2023 and the animated overview of Universal Credit Managed Migration process.

If you need advice on legacy benefits or Universal Credit please call our Freephone helpline on 0800 915 4604