As the government makes a big announcement about its plans to move to universal credit, some people who are claiming benefits have been given more time to make sure they keep getting their payments.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said that the deadline for ending all “legacy benefits” and moving claimants to universal credit will be moved back to help some of the “most vulnerable.”
The department had promised that the “managed migration” process of moving people from older benefits to universal credit (UC) would be done by the end of March 2026.
This meant that the working tax credit, child tax credit, income-based job seekers allowance, income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), income support, and housing benefit for working-age households would all be cut off.
The DWP said on Tuesday that it would not close off employment and support allowance and housing benefit until “the end of the summer” as part of its “ongoing commitment to support and safeguard our most vulnerable customers.”
The department said this is so that “a limited number of hard-to-reach customers, or customers with significant barriers to claiming, can continue to be supported to make the move to universal credit.”
The department said that the managed migration process has helped move more than 1.9 million people to UC so far, including 135,000 people who were getting income support or income-related jobseeker’s allowance.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned in a 2024 report that any problems with moving people from old benefits to UC could cause “real-world misery for thousands.”
Some people who are getting benefits have been given more time to make sure they keep getting their money (PA Wire)
The report said that the Department for Work and Pensions had said that about 4% of the claimants who were on older benefits at the time would not switch to UC through the process.
