Currently on ESA' new claim for UC

[Mumma2be7727]

Hello.
I'm a little bit confused with this problem so I am seeking your advice & help please.
My problem is I am currently on a high rate of ESA and in a support group, however I got pregnant and I have just given birth to my daughter.
I need to ring the ESA to tell them she has finally arrived, however I am being told I would be switched on Universal credits instead of ESA and it would be treated as a new claim therefore I would lose the rate I am currently getting and would have to be reassessed. Is this true what I am being told by others?
To be honest I just want a little advice on what I do now the baby is born, who do I ring? What do I say? What happens? Ect..
I'm really panicking about it all as I heard the new system is dreadful and people are worse off, I am really worried about what happens next..
Thank you in advance for the replies..

If in a UC Full Service area you cannot now make a claim for Child Tax Credits in order to get support for your daughter. You would need to make an online claim for UC. At this point your ESA would stop and you would instead get a monthly UC payment. You would also need to be reassessed after the first 13 weeks of your UC claim and the outcome of the WCA would determine whether you get an additional element of UC related to your health.

If you live in a full service area for Universal credit and you need to make a new claim for child tax credit ( which it sounds like you do) then you need to claim UC instead. Assuming your ESA is income related then that will stop as soon as you make the UC claim and it will become part of UC. Your support group status should be able to transfer directly to UC and you should automatically be awarded the LCWRA ( Limited capability for work and work related activity) element of UC. This is equivalent to the support group rate of ESA. However there can be problems getting this added and it can take a while. You should not need another assessment for Uc but it does depend when you were last assessed on ESA- if it was within the last 12 months you should be ok. If you currently get sdp severe disability premium) on your ESA then there is no current equivalent on UC and you will be worse off. From feb 2019 o one getting sdp will be able to transfer to UC until they have sorted the issue out. If you are on PIP then this is not part of UC so wont be affected, also child benefit is not part of UC and is claimed separately.

OP
Babyroobs has given a really good summary. As to when to claim do that ASAP as there is a limited backdate and you will need a reason. Apply for child benefit, I think you get the form or the government website has it. The application for UC is online and you are expected to manage an online account. If that will not be possible due to disability then you can ask to do paper based.

Once you have made the claim phone ESA and let them know. If you are only on income related esa it will stop. If it is partly contribution based then the ESA may be lowered. Also tell the Council if you get housing benefit. You may want to tell your landlord as there can be delays. Council tax reduction is not affected by universal credit.

The links below are for cab and gov.uk
Citizens Advice has tips on the information you will need and on advances (a loan due to the delay in first payment.)

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/

www.gov.uk/universal-credit

OP - my last post wasn't clear - if your disability means you can't manage universal credit online then phone them. If you get "one off" help due to disability, then you may be stuck with online account.

Are you on income related or contribution related esa? This is important.

I'm on income related.

Ok, as detailed above then.

The problem you are facing now op is that is that you need to move quickly if you want to get it sorted before Christmas. It will take one month and seven days to get your first payment, that is assuming you get your ID submitted, childs birth certificate verified etc ( although I think you may be able to add your baby without the birth certificate). Even if you submitted the claim tomorrow I'm not entirely sure you would get your first payment before Christmas, maybe Christmas eve ? Your ESA stops pretty much straight away and if it doesn't it will be classed as an overpayment that you need to pay back. I guess it depends whether you can mange on the advance and PIP if you get that as I doubt your child benefit is being paid yet ? Do you have any savings to fall back on?. The wait for first payment is causing hardship for a lot of people particularly at this time of year.

Also just to add if you are currently in receipt of housing benefit then you should get a 2 week run on of that to help cover your rent.

Babyroobs - nope no saving this is what I was worry terribly about' I knew that it would be a long wait and what with Christmas coming it would be an even longer delay.
It's my fault really as the baby is 4 weeks old so i should have done it all by now but I was in hospital for the first 2 weeks and then I couldn't get an appiotment to register her untill the 12th of this month and sat down a couple of days ago to sort everything that wheb I came across the problem.
I'm worried now that the council esa ect will have a go at me for not telling them sooner she was here but everyone said to me to let them know when she was registered.
Sorry for the essay :)

No it wont matter that you haven't made the claim yet so don't worry about that, it will be you that's missing out on money for the baby though. Do you get sdp on your ESA do you know? This is the group of people who will miss out on UC and could end up significantly worse off. Are you on PIP ? It may be wise to get some specialised advise form CAB or similar before you do anything.

Sorry for the spelling mistake. Predictive text haha.
Is there anyway I can stay on ESA? Like just claim child benefit and stay on ESA. Or will they make me change?
I'm sorry I seem really dumb. I just don't know who I ring' what I say ect. I will get on it all first thing tomorrow morning.
Thank you for your help.

No to SDP.
I have something on the letter that says I get the basic allowance then so much for being in a support group and then so much for something called a disability income guarantee.
I do not get PIP either..

Ok - you could just stay on ESA but I think you would be better off on UC. You would get the personal element of £317.82 ( assuming you are over 25), the child element of £231.67, hopefully the LCWRA element ( support group equivalent) which is £328.32 and hopefully full rent element but that would depend whether private or council or whether you have more bedrooms than you need etc. All these elements are added together to give your total UC. Then you would get £20.70 child benefit paid separately - weekly or 4 weekly whatever you decide. The problem may be that it can take a while to sort the LCWRA element ( support group equivalent). if you decide to take an advance payment that has to be paid back a bit each month. If you don't get sdp you will definitely be better off on UC it's just the wait that's the problem.

Also you don't ring anyone unless you really can't do the claim online. everything about UC is done online and then you need to go to the job centre to take in ID documents/ tenancy agreement etc unless you can upload them and verify your ID online. You will have no work commitments as you have been deemed not fit to work and you have a baby. You must keep an eye on your online journal ( they can communicate with you by text or email) as if you miss things it may delay payment. It is a complex system but once you've been on it a while you will understand more how it works so try not to worry as everyone is baffled at first as its quite different to other benefits.

Thank you so much babyroobs you have helped me so much and explained everything to me perfectly.
I am in a one bed council flat so I don't have more rooms than I need.
I just have one more question if you don't mind sorry lol.
Who do I ring? Do I ring ESA to tell them I had the baby and they sort it out or do I have to fill out the UC form online to submit a claim? I will ring the council to tell them the baby is finally here aswell.

Aww perfect you answered my question as I was typing to you haha.
Honestly thank you so much babyroobs. You really have put me at ease about the whole thing :)

Good luck with it all, if you can manage those first few weeks you will be better off. You can do the application online - just go to Gov.UK Universal credit. make sure you have everything ready - NI number, landlord details etc as it times out after 45 mins I think. It will give you a number at the end to ring to make an appointment at your local job centre to take in your ID documents, tenancy agreement etc. Just keep an eye on your journal for anything else they want you to do. Even though the LCWRA element should be added you may need to hand in a sick note temporarily until it is sorted.

Just a thought here, I heard they know give an advance at the first appt so might not be such wait? hopefully that might help..