Move to UC migration phase starts in Northern Ireland

The next phase of migration from legacy benefits to Universal Credit in Northern Ireland, known as "Move to UC", started on 16 October 2023, according to the Department for Communities¹. The department's Universal Credit publication, published on 27 November 2024, sets out the position at 31 August 2024¹.

Universal Credit began rolling out on a phased geographical basis in Northern Ireland on 27th September 2017, and roll out for new claims there completed on 5th December 2018¹. The Move to UC phase covers claimants of Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and Tax Credits, as well as Income related Employment Support Allowance claimants who also receive Tax Credits¹. Universal Credit replaces six existing benefits and tax credits: Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit¹.

By the end of August 2024, a total of 59,250 notification letters had been sent inviting legacy benefit claimants to begin their migration to Universal Credit¹. Of the households that had reached their migration deadline by the end of August 2024, 69% had made a claim to Universal Credit; the claim rate was higher for single claims at 76% than for couple claims at 62%¹. In August 2024, 2,390 households completed their migration from legacy benefits, bringing the total number of migrated households to 23,220¹.

At 31 August 2024 there were 169,150 households on the Universal Credit caseload, an increase of 4.9% from May 2024, of which 156,270 were in paid receipt, accounting for 92% of households on Universal Credit¹. Individual claimants numbered 197,780, up 5.4% from May 2024¹. The average monthly amount of Universal Credit paid to the 156,270 households in payment was £930, an increase of £90 from August 2023¹. In August 2024, 5,720 new households started claiming Universal Credit, against a three-month average of 5,530 households¹.

On conditionality, 37,770 claimants were in the "searching for work" regime, representing 19% of the caseload, while 51% (100,160) were in the "no work requirements" regime¹. In August 2024 there were 48,240 claimants in the "working with requirements" and "working with no requirements" regimes, accounting for 24% of the caseload¹. Of households in payment, 44% (69,110) were single people without children¹. As of August 2024, 39% of Universal Credit claimants were male and 60% were female¹.

Why it matters for households

Households in Northern Ireland receiving Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit or Tax Credits, and Income related Employment Support Allowance claimants who also receive Tax Credits, are within the group the Move to UC phase covers¹. Migration is triggered by a migration notice, and 59,250 such letters had been sent by the end of August 2024¹. For households that had reached their migration deadline by then, 69% had claimed Universal Credit, with the rate lower for couples (62%) than for single claimants (76%)¹.

The practical effect is a change of benefit: Universal Credit provides a single award per household based on its circumstances, with support for housing costs, children and childcare integrated as additional elements, plus additions for disabled people and carers, and it is available to people in work on a low income as well as those out of work¹. The average monthly amount paid to households in payment in Northern Ireland was £930 at August 2024, £90 more than a year earlier¹. The publication does not set out individual entitlement changes for migrating households, and no such household-level figures have been reported¹.

What happens next

The publication gives no timetable for the completion of Move to UC in Northern Ireland, and no further migration milestones beyond the position at 31 August 2024 have been reported¹. The statistics are published quarterly by the Department for Communities' Analytics Division, with the next edition not dated in this publication¹.