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<p>Universal Credit Full Service has been introduced gradually in stages across the
country since April 2017 with full roll-out completing this month. From 2019 onwards
we will begin to manage migrate legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit.</p><p>
</p><p>DWP is working closely with stakeholders to design how we identify and support
those claimants who will need extra help with the process of managed migration. This
will begin with a lengthy period of careful introduction and will be at a small scale
to ensure our processes are working effectively before we take on larger volumes from
2020 onwards. Once managed migration has been completed there will be an additional
£2.1 billion spend per year on Universal Credit compared to the current legacy system.</p><p>
</p><p>More severely disabled people will also receive higher payments under Universal
Credit, with around 1 million disabled households gaining on average about £100 more
per month and the managed migration regulations currently before Parliament, include
transitional protections to ensure that no one loses out at the point of transition.</p><p>
</p><p>Claimants may have pre-existing debts prior to claiming Universal Credit –
for example rent arrears (which are usually temporary and are cleared over time).
However, this year, following Autumn Budget 2017, we have implemented a comprehensive
package of improvements. These include making advances of up to 100 per cent of the
indicative award available (from the start of a claim), removing the 7 waiting days,
providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants
when they transition to Universal Credit, and changing how claimants in temporary
accommodation receive support for their housing costs.</p><p> </p><p>We announced
further support at Autumn Budget 2018. Work Allowances will increase by £1000 a year
from next April. This will benefit working parents and people with disabilities –
2.4 million households will be up to £630 better off per year in a package worth £1.7bn
by 2023/24. From July 2020, payment of the income related elements of Employment and
Support Allowance, income based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support will continue
for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Finally,
our new Universal Support partnership with Citizens Advice (CA) and Citizens Advice
Scotland (CAS) from April 2019 will deliver a high-quality and consistent service
for our most vulnerable claimants, to assist them manage their Universal Credit claim,
get paid on time and budget effectively.</p>
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