Managed migration to Universal Credit begins without full trial

The Trades Union Congress has said the managed migration of claimants from legacy benefits to Universal Credit "has also just begun, without a full trial and evaluation"¹. The TUC made the statement in a report, A replacement for Universal Credit, published on 6 September 2022 and written by Anjum Klair, its policy lead for labour market and social security¹.

Under managed migration, the TUC says claimants are contacted and must end an existing claim and make a completely new one. It describes the process as "not automatic", with responsibility transferred to the claimant, and says this results in "stress and anxiety"¹. The report calls for the process to be trialled and then evaluated, and for responsibility for it to sit with the Secretary of State rather than claimants¹.

Universal Credit combines six benefits and is expected to cover around 7 million people once rolled out, according to the report¹. It says the benefit was brought in by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government through the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and introduced from 2013 onwards¹. As of June 2022, around 5.6 million people were on Universal Credit, an increase of around 90 per cent since the pandemic began, and around 60 per cent of all working-age benefits are now means tested¹.

The report sets out a series of criticisms of the benefit's design alongside proposed solutions. It says claimants must wait at least five weeks for a first payment, that the Minimum Income Floor applies only to the self-employed and assumes earnings equivalent to 35 hours a week at the national minimum wage, and that free school meals carry an earnings threshold in Universal Credit of £7,400 a year, which it calls an earnings "cliff edge"¹. It also says monthly assessment periods and the timing of payments "can be complex to understand", that budgeting on monthly payments is more challenging than the fortnightly or weekly payments in legacy benefits, and that couples must claim jointly and receive a single payment¹. On childcare, it says the claimant must pay the provider first and then be reimbursed¹.

The TUC's proposed changes include raising the basic level of Universal Credit and legacy benefits to at least 80 per cent of the national living wage, which it puts at £260 per week, removing the Minimum Income Floor permanently, and scrapping the sanctions scheme¹. It also calls for the older partner of a mixed age couple to be able to claim Pension Credit when they reach state pension age¹. The report notes that at TUC Congress 2018 a motion was passed calling on the government to "Stop and Scrap Universal Credit", and that the DWP announced in March 2022 that it planned to close 41 sites, putting thousands of jobs at risk¹.

Why it matters for households

Managed migration moves people from legacy benefits such as Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and tax credits onto Universal Credit. The TUC says the process requires a claimant to end an existing claim and start a new one, rather than transferring automatically, and that the responsibility sits with the claimant¹. For anyone who receives a migration notice, that means a fresh claim and, on the report's account, a wait of at least five weeks for a first Universal Credit payment¹.

The report also flags points that affect household budgets after the move. Transitional protection freezes entitlement at the point of migration, and the TUC says it is concerned the payment will lose value over time and is not available to all claimants¹. It says support for housing costs forms part of a single monthly payment, with claimants responsible for paying their landlord directly, and that couples receive one payment between them, which it says has implications for financial independence¹. It adds that some disabled people will receive much lower financial support under Universal Credit than under the legacy system in the same circumstances¹.

What happens next

The report calls for managed migration to be trialled and evaluated, and for responsibility for the process to sit with the Secretary of State¹. It does not set out a timetable for those steps, and no government response or start date for the trial it proposes has been reported¹.