Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help those migrating from legacy benefits to universal credit.

All customers have access to support throughout the process, including the Move to Universal Credit Helpline and independent Help to Claim support provided by Citizens Advice, which offers tailored assistance to help people make and manage their claim.

We also provide eligible customers with Transitional Protection where their Universal Credit entitlement would otherwise be lower than their previous legacy benefit award, ensuring their entitlement is protected at the point of migration.

We recognise that some groups, including Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) customers may be more vulnerable. For these customers, enhanced support is in place from the point they receive their Migration Notice. This includes the Enhanced Support Journey, which offers tailored contact and visiting officer support where appropriate for those who have not yet engaged.

In addition, we have identified that some customers require a personal or corporate appointee but may not have arrangements in place ahead of the ESA closure date. In such cases, we will exempt these customers from the closure date to ensure they are not disadvantaged. This does not mean ESA will remain in payment indefinitely and a final closure date for these customers will be determined in due course.