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<p>We will spend over £50 billion in 2018/19 on benefits to support disabled people
and people with health conditions.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In the budget we
have announced that work allowance rates will be increased by £1000 from April 2019
and uprated in line with inflation thereafter. Raising the current work allowances
will direct additional funding to working disabled people by allowing them to keep
more of their earnings before the earnings taper is applied. By increasing the work
allowances many disabled families on UC will be £630 better off, in a package worth
£1.7bn in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>It has also been announced that income related legacy
benefits, Income Support (IS), Income Related Employment and Support Allowance and
Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal
Credit has been made. This change will particularly support vulnerable claimants who
may have been on benefits for some time, have little or no savings to fall back on
and currently rely on regular payments at shorter intervals.</p><p> </p><p>We have
also previously announced that transitional payments for former recipients of Severe
Disability Premium (SDP) and protection for those who are receiving SDP as part of
their existing benefit entitlement. These claimants will now only move to UC with
transitional protection. Those who have already moved to UC will be considered for
a lump sum payment that will be back-dated to the start of their UC claim, and will
receive ongoing monthly payments.</p><p> </p><p>These regulations provide transitional
support to recipients of the SDP while removing the complexity of dealing with different
rules for seven different disability additions. 500,000 vulnerable people receive
the SDP alongside their benefit awards. All of these people will ultimately move to
UC and benefit from this enhanced support.</p><p> </p><p>Not replicating the Severe
Disability Premium in UC means the government can target additional support to a wider
group. UC provides a higher level of support for the most severely disabled people
than the benefit it replaces, worth up to £328.32 per month.</p>
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