Universal Credit rollout invites tax credit claimants with Housing Benefit

The next phase of Universal Credit migration in Northern Ireland started on 13 May 2024, with invitations issued to people claiming Tax Credits with Housing Benefit¹. The rollout is being run by the Department for Communities, which has published a screening document on the move for tax credit and legacy benefit customers¹.

Further groups are scheduled to be invited later in 2024, according to the Law Centre NI Social Security Bulletin¹:

The bulletin also sets out a change to the administrative earnings threshold, the level of earnings at which Universal Credit claimants face different conditionality. Regulations aim to raise the threshold from 15 hours per week at the National Living Wage for an individual to 18 hours, and from 24 hours per week for couples to 29 hours. In cash terms that is an increase from £617 per calendar month for an individual to £892, and from £988 for couples to £1,437¹. The revised threshold will apply to existing and new Universal Credit claimants, including those being migrated as part of Move to UC¹.

Separately, the bulletin reports that from 1 July 2024 the Department for Communities will record new data on claimants with pre-settled status, covering those who have received an individualised assessment, those granted Universal Credit following that assessment, and those refused it¹. It also notes that the online application process for a budgeting loan on Gov.uk is available to customers in Great Britain but not in Northern Ireland, where applications can only be accepted by post¹.

Why it matters for households

People in Northern Ireland who claim Tax Credits and Housing Benefit together are the first group in this phase to be contacted. A migration notice sets a deadline by which a claim for Universal Credit must be made; the bulletin does not state the deadline period attached to these notices, and it has not been reported. The practical effect of moving is that separate legacy awards are replaced by a single monthly Universal Credit payment, with housing costs met through the Universal Credit housing element rather than Housing Benefit. The bulletin records that a claimant is not entitled to be passported to maximum housing benefit during assessment periods in which they have a nil award of Universal Credit¹.

The earnings threshold change affects working claimants, including those being migrated, because it determines when work-related conditionality applies¹. For claimants with pre-settled status, the new recording from 1 July 2024 concerns how the Department assesses risk before deciding entitlement¹.

What happens next

Invitations for people claiming Income Support are listed for June 2024, with Housing Benefit only claimants and those on Child Tax Credits with Income Related Employment and Support Allowance in July 2024, and Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance in September 2024¹. The pre-settled status data recording begins on 1 July 2024¹.