I'm just writing with an update regarding some of their advice in case anyone in a similar boat stumbles upon this- I was advised that claiming the carer's element right away would erode the SDP in the ESA for the last two weeks it is payable, in the lead up to the universal credit award. I assume from what was written to me that that affects the SDP in universal credit as well during the initial calculations during the first assessment period. So you can save over £100 a month by not claiming the carer's element until after the first assessment period- then if you claim the carer's element it will just erode the SDP transitional protection and not affect the base level of the award. I'm not sure if this will change at some point- always worth getting updated advice from CA, but it goes to show the complexity of the whole thing. Kind regards
