The SDP Gateway rule that this post is about was scrapped on 26th January 2021.
I’m leaving this information here to provide a context for the new Transitional SDP Element rule that replaces it.
Hi Mike
A woman with 2 children was on Income Support. She got a disability premium as she is on PIP standard rate daily living.
The youngest child turned 5 and she was told by the job centre to claim Universal Credit.
She did this, but has been turned down – she says they said its due to the disability premium she was getting from Income Support.
So, what do I need to tell her to do? Is it another online application for UC or something else?
Advice appreciated J
Tracy
Hello Tracy
The premium that you mentioned is not a disability premium (though she does get one of those) it’s a Severe Disability Premium.
The Severe Disability Premium
The SDP is not a separate benefit. It’s an extra £66.95 per week of Income Support, Income-related ESA or Income-based JSA (and also part of Housing Benefit).
If you are a single person you qualify if:
- You get PIP Daily Living or DLA Care Component because you have got care needs.
- No-one gets paid a carer’s benefit for looking after you.
- You have no other adults living with you.
Natural Migration
Mostly Income Support, Income-related ESA, Income-based JSA, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit are closed for new claims.
Mostly, if you want to make a new claim for one of those benefits, you can’t. You have to claim Universal Credit instead.
This is what the DWP calls natural migration.
Some people get more money under UC, some people get less.
If you get less, there is nothing you can do about it.
Managed Migration
The government plans to make people move over to Universal Credit in a process that they call managed migration.
If you go through managed migration and it turns out that you are entitled to less from UC than you got from your old benefits, they will give you an extra bit called a transitional element to keep you where you were.
That’s Not Fair!
The people who are most likely to lose out in the transition to Universal Credit are people with disabilities.
If you get an SDP in your current benefits you would generally get a lower rate of benefit under Universal Credit.
Because of this the government was forced (by the courts) to introduce a rule to protect people who get the Severe Disability Premium.
This rule is called the SDP Gateway Rule.
The SDP Gateway Rule
Between January 2019 and January 2021 anyone getting an SDP (or who has been getting one in the last month) is locked out of Universal Credit.
People with an SDP can still make new claims for the old benefits.
They stay in the old system until the DWP moves them onto Universal Credit through managed migration.
When they move onto UC in managed migration they’ll get transitional element to prevent their benefits from being cut at that time.
What Should Your Client Claim?
She should claim ESA.
ESA may say Sorry, this is closed but you should then reply SDP-Gateway and they will allow her to make a new claim.
Because her IS has stopped, her Housing Benefit will be suspended too until you provide proof of income for the gap.
You can maybe avoid this by telling HB that she is moving from IS to iESA.
Ask for the iESA to be backdated to the day after the Income Support stopped.