The DWP has so far paid out over £37 million to claimants who lost out on the severe disability premium (SDP) when they were migrated from legacy benefits such as employment and support allowance (ESA) to universal credit (UC).
Minister for disabled people, Justin Tomlinson, told MPs that over 13,800 claimants have received an SDP transitional payment, averaging £2,280 per person.
That brings the total paid out up to 26 September to £37.2 million.
Tomlinson’s full answer to a parliamentary question on the subject was:
“A gateway was introduced from 16 January 2019 to prevent those claimants entitled to the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) as part of their legacy benefit from claiming Universal Credit. Additionally, a commitment was made for monthly transitional payments to be made to eligible former SDP claimants who have already moved to Universal Credit due to a change in circumstances and to provide a lump sum arrears payment, where appropriate.
“The Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019, which were laid in Parliament on 22 July 2019, have allowed the Department to assess eligibility and make backdated payments to claimants covering the time since they moved to Universal Credit.
“As of 26 September 2019, over 13,800 claims have been paid an SDP transitional payment. The average (median) value of the lump sum payments is £2,280. To date, over £37.2m has been disbursed to support former SDP claimants, including the recurring payments that have now commenced.”
