Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to cease transitory protections for people undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit in 2023-2024.

Transitional Protection ensures eligible claimants moved by the Department from legacy benefits to UC will not have a lower entitlement than they had via legacy benefits at the point of their move to UC.

This protection is not designed to provide indefinite financial protection. It will erode by increases in other elements of UC or where new elements (other than the Childcare Costs element) are awarded to a claimant’s UC award. It can also be terminated if a claimant experiences a significant change of circumstances such as where a claimant separates from their partner or forms a new couple, or where the UC award ceases.

Once stopped, a claimant’s transitional element will not generally be reapplied to their UC award, should they make another UC claim. The exception is where the original Universal Credit claim was stopped due to an increase in earnings and a new claim to Universal Credit is made within four months of the date for which Universal Credit was last awarded.