Moving fast but breaking things? The risks of the DWP’s approach to ESA migration to UC
In the budget, the government re-confirmed its plans for moving people from legacy benefits on to Universal Credit (UC) - the “managed migration” process. Since September 2024, the DWP have been telling people receiving income-related Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to claim UC. There have been problems with the managed migration process since it began in spring 2023, but now that the DWP is progressing with migrating ESA claimants, it’s more important than ever that it’s done right.
Income-related ESA is a benefit for people with limited capability to work because of health conditions or a disability. Because of this, people receiving ESA are more likely to need support to make a new claim for UC. Since September, nearly 4,000 people have come to us for advice about moving from ESA to UC.
Rightly, people receiving ESA are one of the last cohorts to be migrated to UC, giving the DWP the chance to learn lessons from migrating those less likely to have additional needs and complex circumstances. But the DWP is now moving quickly with ESA migration. We’re concerned that the current timetable doesn’t allow the DWP to take the cautious approach to ESA migration that’s needed - and cracks in the migration process are starting to show.
People receiving ESA have faced uncertainty
People receiving ESA have experienced particular uncertainty around managed migration. In 2022, as a cost-saving measure – because many claimants may be better off financially on UC compared to ESA –,the government announced ESA migration would be delayed until 2028. Then, in April 2024 the government announced that ESA migration would be brought forward by at least three years.
To test and inform their approach, the DWP began a discovery phase, telling 500 people receiving ESA to make a claim for UC. But full scale migration of ESA claimants has now begun, although the discovery phase is ongoing and conclusions from the programme have yet to be published. The DWP is now planning to notify over 800,000 ESA claimants that they need to make a claim for UC by the end of 2025.
We also need to think about managed migration in the context of wider uncertainty about imminent reforms to disability benefits. In the budget, the government confirmed they will seek to make savings through reforms to health and disability benefits. However, it’s not yet clear if these savings will be achieved through the same troubling reforms proposed by the previous government. We need to recognise how worrying this huge uncertainty will be for disabled people, including people receiving ESA who are now being expected to move to UC.
The risks of managed migration’s unresolved problems
ESA migration is being accelerated even though many of the ongoing problems with managed migration haven’t been resolved.
We still don’t know why many people who are told to move to UC don’t make a claim, even though this means losing out on much-needed income. Over half (53%) of households receiving Working Tax Credits only have not moved to UC despite receiving a migration notice – over 40,000 households. On average, these households are losing out on over £400 a month[1]. Some households may not have claimed because they believed they wouldn’t be eligible for much, or any, UC. However, these households could have been entitled to an additional payment – the transitional element – to keep their benefits income the same in cash terms when they moved to UC. It’s likely that some people aren’t moving to UC because they aren’t getting the right information to make an informed decision, or the right support to make a claim.
The DWP’s ESA discovery phase suggests that people receiving ESA are more likely to make a claim for UC than tax credit claimants. However, the full-scale migration of ESA claimants started before we could know the true no-claim rate for this cohort, as well as the reasons why some people did not claim. Even if only 5% of people receiving ESA do not make a claim to UC, this could mean 40,000 people missing out on, on average, an estimated £812 per month[2]. This is income they can’t afford to lose. Every effort must be made to understand why people may be failing to claim UC, and to adapt managed migration processes in response.
The DWP has additional processes in place for ESA claimants being told to claim UC, called the ‘enhanced support journey’ (ESJ). The ESJ is designed to identify vulnerable claimants who haven’t made a claim for UC, and aren’t responding to contact from the DWP. The DWP may then offer them additional support to make a claim, like a home visit. However, because the ESA migration timetable has been accelerated so quickly, we are concerned that DWP doesn’t have the capacity to deliver this support adequately and at scale – for example, whether DWP has enough staff to carry out all the home visits required. In addition, because the ESJ isn’t a legal process, there aren’t formal mechanisms to hold the DWP accountable if people fall through the net.
It’s too soon to know how many people may need support through the ESJ – or how well the ESJ works. Continuing with current timetables risks people being told to move to UC without the right safeguards in place. It is good that the DWP has emphasised that vulnerable claimants’ legacy benefits will not be terminated if they aren’t engaging in the managed migration process. But we don’t yet have clarity on how this will work in practice.
For ESA claimants, cracks in the migration process are starting to show
Migrating the ESA cohort has also thrown up new issues the DWP need to urgently address.
We have seen delays with ESA claimants’ ability to work status being carried over to their UC claim (their Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) determination). This is a technical glitch in the UC system, but one with potentially very distressing consequences. Some people receiving ESA have been wrongly asked to provide fit notes or asked to complete inappropriate work-related activities. In addition to the stress and confusion this causes, these cracks in the system put people at risk of sanctions and of missing out on their full benefit entitlement. Though the DWP has very recently fixed this issue for new claims, it is indicative of the risks of rushing vulnerable claimants through an unprepared system.
Callum* has been receiving ESA since 2012, and is in the Support Group, which means he cannot work now and isn’t expected to prepare for work in the future. He has substantial mobility issues, and a chronic lung condition that means he needs to carry an oxygen tank. When Callum moved to UC, he was asked to provide a fit note and attend an in-person meeting with a work coach, even though his ability to work should have automatically been transferred to his UC claim.
Anita* receives ESA and recently received a migration notice telling her to move to UC. She has severe anxiety, and like Callum*, is in the ESA Support Group. Anita was told she would need to do a phone interview with the DWP to complete her UC claim, and thought this was just a formality to check her details. But during this phone call, Anita was told she would need sick notes explaining why she was unable to work. She was also told she would need to complete a health assessment, and was asked if she had an up-to-date CV. Anita hasn’t worked in many years, and doesn’t have a CV. Being asked these questions exacerbated Anita’s anxiety. Anita’s ability to work should have been automatically transferred from her ESA claim, and she shouldn’t have been asked to complete any work preparation activities.
The migration system is also falling short for people who need home visits to verify their ID at the start of their claim. Some people receiving ESA haven’t been able to verify their ID online or over the phone, and can’t visit a Jobcentre in person because of their health conditions. Our advisers have reported cases where people are told they need to wait over 10 weeks for a home visit. It’s unclear whether the delay could lead to a gap in people’s income, or whether ESA payments might continue while someone waits for a home visit.
Grace* receives ESA and was recently told to move to UC. She has anxiety and agoraphobia, and receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP). After Grace applied for UC online, she was told to visit the Jobcentre in person to verify her ID, something which would be very difficult for her to do given her significant mental health problems. When Grace requested another way to verify her ID, she was told the long wait for a home visit could delay her first UC payment by several weeks. Grace found this phone call with the DWP very distressing, especially since she is worried about her finances and already getting into arrears with her rent.
We need a more cautious approach
To give people receiving ESA the best chance of moving smoothly to UC, the migration timetable may need to be slowed down. ID verification and carrying over ability to work are just two issues we’ve seen cause hardship and distress. But they’re symptoms of the wider risks of rushing through ESA migration when we can’t be confident the system can provide adequate support.
Even if a relatively high proportion of ESA claimants make the move to UC, it’s not acceptable that their first interactions with UC may cause distress and financial hardship, undermining trust in the UC system. We also can’t move forward without knowing what barriers have led some people not to claim UC at all. Finally, we need more clarity about how vulnerable people’s incomes will be protected if they don’t make a claim to UC.
A slower timetable would allow the DWP to learn from the ESA 500 discovery phase, and respond to future issues that could emerge through the migration process, before large numbers of people are affected.
* All names have been changed.
Written by Julia Ruddick-Trentmann with the support of Victoria Anns, Abi Sheridan, and other colleagues.
Notes
1. £4,960 is the mean annual Tax Credit award amount for tax credit only households sent a migration notice between November 2022 and February 2024, who did not make a claim to UC and whose Tax Credit claims were closed. An annual award of £4,960 is equivalent to a mean monthly award of £413.33. DWP data from Freedom of Information Request.
2. £812 is a monthly estimate based on the mean weekly award of income based ESA (£188.76) in Great Britain, for individuals receiving only income based ESA, for the quarter to May 2024. In reality, it is likely that different groups of income based ESA claimants, who receive different award amounts, will claim UC at different rates. The true value of ESA awards for those who have their claims closed is likely lower than £812 per month, assuming that those with higher ESA awards are more likely to move to UC. DWP does not currently publish statistics on the legacy award amounts for people failing to claim UC.