Official figures released by the DWP show that just over a quarter of managed migrations end with universal credit (UC) not being claimed and legacy benefits claims closed. But the figures for employment and support allowance (ESA) migrations show a much higher success rate.
The figures show that between July 2022 and August 2024 1,306,824 migration notices were sent out.
Of these, 962,536 (74%) claimed UC and 338,718 (26%) did not claim UC and had their legacy benefits closed by December 2024.
However, according to the DWP’s statxplore tool, failure rates vary hugely by benefit. For example, 50% of working tax credit claimants have had their claims closed without claiming UC and 32% of child tax credit claimants.
The success rate for ESA is very much higher, but the figures are far from complete. People who claimed ESA with another legacy benefit received migration notices before ESA only claimants, so fuller figures are available for them.
Migration notices for ESA claimants began to be sent out in September 2024 in the following numbers:
Sept 1,399
Oct 7,056
Nov 9,799
Dec 18,817
The success rate for all types of ESA managed migration claimants so far is as follows.
Employment Support Allowance only:
37,481 notices sent
26.50% claimed UC,
0.33% legacy benefit claim closed,
73.20% in progress.
Child Tax Credit and Employment Support Allowance:
11,596 notices sent
74.07% claimed UC,
1.69% legacy benefit claim closed,
24.26% in progress.
Housing Benefit and Employment Support Allowance:
74,026 notices sent
28.71% claimed UC,
0.17% legacy benefit claim closed
71.12% in progress
Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit and Employment Support Allowance:
74,588 notices sent
85.14% claimed UC,
1.33% legacy benefit claim closed,
13.54% in progress
So, it is very early days yet. But it is clear that ESA claimants who also claimed another benefit are more likely to move onto UC than tax credit claimants. Initial figures for ESA only claimants are also less grim.
We’ll keep readers informed of the successful migration rates over the coming months.
