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Migrated to UC. got LCWRW, Council Tax support reduced although income unchanged
- nicmcc
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1 week 5 days ago #301409 by nicmcc
Migrated to UC. got LCWRW, Council Tax support reduced although income unchanged was created by nicmcc
I'm on PIP (Enhanced for both). My Partner cares for me and gets Carers Allowance
He doesn't work (Being a carer is his /a full time job), so our income doesnt change from month to month).
We have 2 children we still get Child benefit for.
We rent from the council (North Yorkshire).
We used to recieve Child Tax Credit.
In September 25 we managed migrated to Universal Credit (on the health pathway).
Due to being my carer my partner recieved Income Support for us as a couple.
As he claimed for me, all my sickness benefits were paid as part of IS.
So I never applied for ESA.
The UC Elements we recieved were:
Standard Allowance,
Housing,
Children,
Carer,
And Transitional Protection of £472.45 (so we recieved the same amount as our legacy benefits).
They then take off the Carers Allowance (same as IS).
This was a monthly total of: £2037
I recieved a new Council Tax bill (29/11/24) and continued to recieve 100% Council Tax Reduction - so a bill of £0.
In December 24 I received and returned my UC50.
On 21st February 25 I was put into the LCWRA Group.
So my entitlement to LCWRA to was backdated to that date (Dec 25).
My Statement paid on 31/01/25 which covered the Assessment period: 25 Dec to 24 Jan 25 - was corrected on the 21/02/25.
So, My UC Elements now also include:
Limited capability for work and work-related activity Of £416.19
And the Transitional Protection was adjusted to: £56.26
This was a monthly total of: £2037
No change in Total amount of UC recieved.
A week ago I received my 25/26 council tax bill of 100% Council Tax Reduction so a bill of £0.
Today I recieved a revised Council Tax bill.
My support has gone down to 75% - so I now owe over £500 - including £100 from this years 24/25 bill (so from Dec 25).
Again, I actually have been receiving continue to recieve the same amount of £2037 (from UC, as previously).
I rang my council and asked what they count as income ect;
My council disregard all my other benefits.
In UC the Council don't count the housing payment element.
My council also have a £40 income disregard for if receiving (PIP or DLA etc).
By my calculations, I'm under the under amount so i should get 100% CTR.
My Council say that they get the figure from UC.
I have done a calculation on Entitled to and their figure is higher than mine:
"Assessed Income Without UC Housing Costs by Proportion of £322.72"
It is £4 higher than than my calculation, but £10 less Than the councils.
Is this right? I'm getting the same amount of income from UC as before -
It's just the LCWRW element that has been added (and transitional protection reduced accordingly).
I feel i'm being penalised for being in the LCWRW group.
How do UC get this figure?
I know that each council can do what they want and I'm glad and very relieved to be in the LCWRA group.
But, I only transfered to UC at the end of Sept 24 -
with no change in my disability (or any other changes), but I'm already worse off now (even with the transitional protection).
Sorry for the long post (i wanted to include as much info as possible). Thank you.
He doesn't work (Being a carer is his /a full time job), so our income doesnt change from month to month).
We have 2 children we still get Child benefit for.
We rent from the council (North Yorkshire).
We used to recieve Child Tax Credit.
In September 25 we managed migrated to Universal Credit (on the health pathway).
Due to being my carer my partner recieved Income Support for us as a couple.
As he claimed for me, all my sickness benefits were paid as part of IS.
So I never applied for ESA.
The UC Elements we recieved were:
Standard Allowance,
Housing,
Children,
Carer,
And Transitional Protection of £472.45 (so we recieved the same amount as our legacy benefits).
They then take off the Carers Allowance (same as IS).
This was a monthly total of: £2037
I recieved a new Council Tax bill (29/11/24) and continued to recieve 100% Council Tax Reduction - so a bill of £0.
In December 24 I received and returned my UC50.
On 21st February 25 I was put into the LCWRA Group.
So my entitlement to LCWRA to was backdated to that date (Dec 25).
My Statement paid on 31/01/25 which covered the Assessment period: 25 Dec to 24 Jan 25 - was corrected on the 21/02/25.
So, My UC Elements now also include:
Limited capability for work and work-related activity Of £416.19
And the Transitional Protection was adjusted to: £56.26
This was a monthly total of: £2037
No change in Total amount of UC recieved.
A week ago I received my 25/26 council tax bill of 100% Council Tax Reduction so a bill of £0.
Today I recieved a revised Council Tax bill.
My support has gone down to 75% - so I now owe over £500 - including £100 from this years 24/25 bill (so from Dec 25).
Again, I actually have been receiving continue to recieve the same amount of £2037 (from UC, as previously).
I rang my council and asked what they count as income ect;
My council disregard all my other benefits.
In UC the Council don't count the housing payment element.
My council also have a £40 income disregard for if receiving (PIP or DLA etc).
By my calculations, I'm under the under amount so i should get 100% CTR.
My Council say that they get the figure from UC.
I have done a calculation on Entitled to and their figure is higher than mine:
"Assessed Income Without UC Housing Costs by Proportion of £322.72"
It is £4 higher than than my calculation, but £10 less Than the councils.
Is this right? I'm getting the same amount of income from UC as before -
It's just the LCWRW element that has been added (and transitional protection reduced accordingly).
I feel i'm being penalised for being in the LCWRW group.
How do UC get this figure?
I know that each council can do what they want and I'm glad and very relieved to be in the LCWRA group.
But, I only transfered to UC at the end of Sept 24 -
with no change in my disability (or any other changes), but I'm already worse off now (even with the transitional protection).
Sorry for the long post (i wanted to include as much info as possible). Thank you.
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- David
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1 week 4 days ago #301421 by David
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by David on topic Migrated to UC. got LCWRW, Council Tax support reduced although income unchanged
Hi nicmcc
As I said before this is a deliberate policy by some councils to reduce Council Tax support for disabled people ( mainly Tory councils ). Co-incidentally I raised this issue in another job role a year ago and I got this reply from a Benefits Adviser in York regarding North Yorkshire Council.
it sounds as if we may have a similar Scheme in North Yorkshire, possibly both are based on a Scheme proposal by a specific consultant. There is a large discrepancy between the way UC claimants are treated in comparison to legacy benefit claimants which results in people moving from legacy benefits to UC experiencing a marked increase in their CT bill. It appears that the problems arise through a lack of understanding about the structure of UC but it could be that it’s a deliberate attempt to reduce future CTR expenditure.
It’s a new scheme so there’s no direct comparison to previous years’ banding. There is a 100% discount level which is very beneficial to some residents.
We are seeking clarity but it appears, as you mention, that those on UC with lcwra will not have the lcwra element disregarded, in contrast to the cESA support element. If on IS, ibJSA or irESA a claimant is passported to 100% discount, someone on the same amount (or less) on UC will not be (even if receiving UC maximum) and may pay more - this particularly affects larger families and disabled people. Also, an amount of the housing costs element is taken into account if claimants have any income other than UC - unlike HB for legacy benefits and creating a very complex calculation to work out CTR entitlement (and the Scheme wording around this is confusing). Carers have to claim CA in order to get a carer disregard - again the UC carer element is not included in determining the disregard.
We are worried about the impact on residents, particularly as UC migration picks up. We have provided detailed information raising our concerns and have been told that this has been noted when they look at claims for discretionary support.
David
As I said before this is a deliberate policy by some councils to reduce Council Tax support for disabled people ( mainly Tory councils ). Co-incidentally I raised this issue in another job role a year ago and I got this reply from a Benefits Adviser in York regarding North Yorkshire Council.
it sounds as if we may have a similar Scheme in North Yorkshire, possibly both are based on a Scheme proposal by a specific consultant. There is a large discrepancy between the way UC claimants are treated in comparison to legacy benefit claimants which results in people moving from legacy benefits to UC experiencing a marked increase in their CT bill. It appears that the problems arise through a lack of understanding about the structure of UC but it could be that it’s a deliberate attempt to reduce future CTR expenditure.
It’s a new scheme so there’s no direct comparison to previous years’ banding. There is a 100% discount level which is very beneficial to some residents.
We are seeking clarity but it appears, as you mention, that those on UC with lcwra will not have the lcwra element disregarded, in contrast to the cESA support element. If on IS, ibJSA or irESA a claimant is passported to 100% discount, someone on the same amount (or less) on UC will not be (even if receiving UC maximum) and may pay more - this particularly affects larger families and disabled people. Also, an amount of the housing costs element is taken into account if claimants have any income other than UC - unlike HB for legacy benefits and creating a very complex calculation to work out CTR entitlement (and the Scheme wording around this is confusing). Carers have to claim CA in order to get a carer disregard - again the UC carer element is not included in determining the disregard.
We are worried about the impact on residents, particularly as UC migration picks up. We have provided detailed information raising our concerns and have been told that this has been noted when they look at claims for discretionary support.
David
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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