Research and analysis

Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts

Published 29 February 2024

Introduction  

Universal Credit (UC) combines 6 ‘legacy benefits’ into a single, simplified and dynamic benefit. For more than 10 years, UC has successfully delivered a tailored service to millions of people, adjusting payments to individuals’ needs each month and helping people to progress in work. 

In April 2022, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) focused its attention on moving the households which remained on legacy benefits to UC. There are currently around 2.1 million households on legacy benefits who are in scope to move to UC. We have since published 2 insight documents setting out our learning to date:  

• in January 2023, we published ‘Learning from the Discovery Phase’, sharing our learning and outcomes from the first 499 Migration Notices that were issued  
• in August 2023, we published ‘Learning from Initial Tax Credit Migrations’ which set out insights from migrating Tax Credit-only claimants as well as the improvements we made to the migration process in light of our learnings. 

We have continued to increase the number of people asked to claim UC that are solely in receipt of Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit, as we work towards notifying over 500,000 Tax Credit only households by the end of the March 2024. We are making strong progress and at the end of December 2023 we had issued Migration Notices to 346,550 households (totalling 519,370 Migration Notices).  

While we continue our work migrating Tax Credit customers at scale, we are also preparing for the next phase of Move to UC due to start in April 2024. This will start to move households in receipt of other combinations of legacy benefits to UC. Further details of when households will be asked to move can be found in a Written Statement by the Minister for Employment on 25 January.  

The Department has done further small-scale Discovery work looking at households receiving legacy benefits in preparation for future migrations. This builds on the initial Discovery work for wider cohorts done in 2022 and enables us to learn, iterate and improve our approach at a small scale to support the migration of these groups at scale from April.   

Overview  

Our August publication outlined the lessons learnt from the different stages of the customer journey for Tax Credit claimants migrating to UC.  This document sets out: 

1. further research undertaken to understand why not all tax credit claimants are making the move to UC

2. early evidence from the Discovery work looking at people on other combinations of legacy benefits who will be asked to move to UC at greater scale from April 2024

Annex A also provides data from earlier Discovery activity from 2022 involving these groups of claimants.  

Our evidence has been developed through a programme of observation, research (both internal and externally commissioned), and analysis examining all aspects of the Move to UC process. This work includes in-depth interviews with claimants and Jobcentre Plus staff, analysis of migration data, claimant insight to assess people’s views on the content and design of Migration Notices and assessment of telephony contact and claimant support services.  

1. Understanding the Tax Credit claim rate 

Understanding the Tax Credit claim rate^{[footnote 1]}  

We are committed to ensuring that the transition to UC works as smoothly as possible for all individuals. Our research and analysis shows that whilst every household’s circumstances are different, most households claiming Tax Credits have been able to make the transition to UC successfully with minimal support. 

From April 2023 there has been a steady increase in the number of migration notices being issued, and we have observed a similar pattern in claim and non-claim behaviour over this period. The proportion of households issued with a Migration Notice between July 2022 and August 2023 that made a claim to UC was 74%. The majority of these households were Tax Credit-only claimants. Although the Official Statistics cover the period up to December 2023, 355,620 individuals who were sent a migration notice are still going through the Move to UC process.  

Throughout our Move to UC communications, the Department makes it clear that individuals must claim UC to continue receiving financial support. We have sought to encourage everyone issued with a Migration Notice to claim and where individuals choose not to do so, that they are doing so fully informed.  

In light of our data showing a broadly consistent proportion of Tax Credit claimants not claiming, we have continued to undertake research and analysis to understand the reasons behind this so that we could identify and address any barriers as appropriate and discern if this is a systemic problem or the natural rate of claims we might expect to see.

We have previously set out reasons why some people were not claiming UC based on initial research with single Tax Credit-only households. Since then, we have sought to increase our understanding of why some people do not claim UC by doing in-depth interviews with couples who were previously on Tax Credits and chose not to make a claim to UC.  It should be noted that encouraging participation in the research process amongst this cohort of people has been difficult and response rates have been low. Nonetheless we are continuing with our programme of gathering claimant insight.   

All the people who responded to the research questions said they remembered receiving the migration notice and felt confident that they understood what action they needed to take. Before receiving the Migration Notice, most research participants had some awareness they would be notified to move to UC at some point in time. Most respondents also recalled receiving a reminder.^{[footnote 2]}

The claimants we spoke to understood that their benefits would stop if they did not make a claim to UC within the Migration Notice window.  

Respondents frequently undertook their own research into the managed migration process, including looking on GOV.UK, calling the dedicated Move to UC helpline, speaking to friends/family, using an online calculator to estimate their entitlement to UC and searching social media. This is in line with previous findings. 

The initial findings from our latest research found several reasons why couples previously on Tax Credit are choosing not to claim UC:  

Households have experienced a change in circumstances 

Some respondents believed that they would no longer be eligible for UC due to a change in their household circumstances which they thought would affect their eligibility for UC.  Some respondents mentioned that their income had recently increased.  

A perception that households would only receive a low amount of UC award 

There was a perception from some claimants that the amount they would receive from UC was so small that it was not seen as worthwhile making a claim.   

Requirements for the self-employed on UC 

Universal Credit places greater requirements on self-employed claimants than the Tax Credit system, for example monthly reporting of income and expenses in addition to the gateway interview and quarterly meetings that claimants are required to attend, in order to verify entitlement to state support. Research suggests that the additional checks that are made on claims and time taken may be a factor in some self-employed claimants choosing not to make a claim to UC.  

Households with savings  

The research also indicated that some couples previously on Tax Credits had savings higher than the £16,000 threshold and therefore believed they would not be eligible for UC. Respondents, when prompted did understand that the capital disregard^{[footnote 3]} rules were in place for 12 assessment periods, but this appeared not to affect their decision to apply.   

This early insight into why people are failing to make a claim to UC improves our understanding of claimant behaviour and motivations. The Department continues to listen to all feedback to continuously improve the service, but to date there have been very few complaints. There is more to learn though and the department is planning further research to build on its understanding of non-claim behaviour and its consequences. A large-scale survey of non-claimants is planned for April 2024, which will allow for a quantification of these reasons, as far as possible. Internal data analysis and monitoring telephone calls to the Move to UC helpline will also provide further insight.  

2. Discovery 2023 – initial insight on wider legacy benefit migrations 

The second part of this document outlines the insight we have gathered through our recent Discovery work. This will support the migration of wider cohorts of legacy benefit households in scope to migrate to UC from April 2024. This includes the remaining households on Tax Credits (including those on both Employment and Support Allowance and Tax Credits), all cases on Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) and all Housing Benefit only cases. Households may be in receipt of a combination of benefits, for example an Income Support recipient could also be claiming Housing Benefit and/or Child Tax Credits.

A diagram illustrating the simplified managed migration customer journey is shown below. 

Further detail about the migration process can be found in our January 2023 publication. In addition to the steps outlined below, we have been testing an enhanced support journey for some groups, to support claimants to move over to UC smoothly – more detail on this is outlined below. 

Migration notices were sent out from September 2023 to February 2024 to various combinations of households claiming the benefits outlined above and were sent to a mixture of both individuals and couples. The focus of this publication will be on the Migration Notices sent in September 2023 as at the time of publication, households sent Migration Notices in later months had not yet completed their 3-month Migration Notice deadline period and/or were still in their 1-month grace period following the deadline. In September 2023, 523 migration notices were sent to households on a range of benefits.  

Our Discovery work is focused on learning as much as we can to develop the service. This evidence is set out below in 4 core themes:

• the Migration Notice and reminders
• support and contact
• the claim process
• the no-claim process

It is important to note that the insights gained here are from a relatively small number of households. Nonetheless we have been encouraged by the early findings to date.   

Migration Notice and reminders 

The migration notice has been adjusted for those people claiming DWP benefits and Housing Benefit. We drew on research and user testing to inform changes to the letter, including making statements more explicit and reducing any ambiguity, for example the line ‘Universal Credit is replacing your Tax Credits’ was replaced with the statement ‘You will soon stop getting the following benefits’.  

During testing we found that claimants could often get overwhelmed with too many words, so we have attempted to streamline the letter as much as possible and make the key information as clear as possible.  Feedback from claimants so far has provided reassurance that the migration notice is understood by claimants and they are aware that they need to make a claim to UC.  

Further research on how people understand and react to the Migration Notice is happening throughout February and March 2024 with single claimants and will be followed by research with couples. 

Support and Contact  

A range of support is available to help people successfully make their UC claim, including:  

• A dedicated Move to UC telephone helpline  
• Comprehensive guidance on GOV.UK  
• Face-to-face support in local Jobcentres 
• Independent support through Help to Claim, delivered by Citizens Advice. 

We are aware from the Assisted Digital Survey that more claimants on DWP benefits/Housing Benefit require help with making their UC claim. This is higher than what we see for all UC claims and for Tax Credit claimants currently migrating to UC. The Assisted Digital Survey is a short online survey that UC claimants are asked to complete at the end of the UC claim declaration – the completion rate stands at 95% for all UC claims.  

The main reasons for requiring help are around the following key themes:  

• answering questions 
• getting set up 
• a lack of digital access  
• language barriers around reading/writing 
• health condition 

The main source of help for claimants was from friends/family, followed by the dedicated Move to UC helpline and then the Jobcentre. The helpline remains a key area for us to be able to support and guide claimants in making a claim.  

For Discovery cases in September 2023, the proportion of telephone claims has been much higher in comparison to the wider Universal Credit service, at 15% compared to 3%. This figure may however change as insight from later Discovery cases comes through.

The higher use of telephone claims here is not surprising and is similar to what we saw in the Earliest Testable Service from 2022 which contained a wider mix of legacy benefit claimants.  We will continue to monitor the proportion of telephone claims and look at how we can support claimants to successfully make a claim to UC, including those who may be digitally excluded.  

The Claim Process 

For the Migration Notices sent to Discovery claimants in September, 90% had made a claim by the deadline and 94% made a claim after the grace period. At the point of publication, 2% had had their benefit(s) terminated and 4% remained in progress.  

These figures are encouraging and support our earlier findings that individuals on wider legacy benefit cohorts have a higher likelihood to claim compared to those claiming Tax Credits only. In line with previous findings, we have seen a higher proportion claiming nearer to the deadline date, suggesting that people are leaving it to later in the migration period to make a claim. Outlined below are the differences seen between those claiming different legacy benefits. Due to the particularly small sample sizes however we have not included individual ‘claim rates’ for these groups.   

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants currently have the highest claim rate and they appear to be most comfortable with doing their claim online. Unsurprisingly, the relationship they have with their work coach is key to engagement and is effective at encouraging claimants to make a claim. The relationship with work coaches will be a key part of the support journey for JSA claimants moving to UC, and we will continue to monitor this approach and seek feedback from work coaches throughout the process. 

Income Support claimants also appear to be comfortable claiming, with the second highest claim rate in comparison to the other benefit combinations. They are more likely to contact the Move to UC helpline for support, alongside talking to friends/family.  

People in the Income-related Employment and Support Allowance combination have a lower claim rate by initial deadline/pre-support checks in comparison to other benefit combinations. They are also the group who were more likely to say they required help with making their claim. However, early indicators suggest that the enhanced support journey (outlined below) put in place has been effective at getting these individuals to make a claim. It has resulted in a high claim rate at the deadline and by the end of the grace period.  It should be noted however that only a small group of Employment and Support Allowance households were included in the group issued with Migration Notices in September.  

Housing Benefit claimants currently have the lowest claim rate for Migration Notices sent in September. However, they were more likely to call the Move to UC helpline alongside talking to friends/family. We are looking at how we can increase engagement with these claimants given the lower claim rate we have seen from this initial cohort. 

The no claim process, deadline extensions and terminations  

It is our aim to ensure everyone in scope for moving to UC receives the support they need to successfully make the transition. In light of the anticipated higher support needs and vulnerability of some groups due to migrate in 2024/2025, we have therefore been testing as part of our Discovery 2023 work an ‘enhanced support journey’. This has been tested for those people claiming Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support from week 11 (following the second reminder, for those who are still to claim).  It involves different interventions ranging from outbound calls, system checks, home visits and contact with the local community. If all these options have been exhausted, a case conference will happen.  

Results of the enhanced support (based on September migration notices) 

The following paragraphs set out the outcomes and impact of the enhanced support journey for the 523 households who received a migration notice sent in September 2023: 

• Of the 523 households, 154 outbound calls were made (29% of the total cohort) 
• Of the 154 outbound calls made (with up to 3 attempts made in each case), 112 were successful (73%). 
• Of the 154 outbound calls made, 42 were unsuccessful (i.e. no contact made)

If we were able to reach the claimant through a phone call and we were able to provide support through this channel, we did not refer them to a home visit. A home visit was provided for those we were unable to contact, or where support needs were identified, and they hadn’t made a claim by the deadline.  

Where outbound calls were not successful, checks were undertaken of system records for Income Support claimants to identify who required enhanced support. All Employment and Support claimants were provided with enhanced support.  

A total of 20 home visits were arranged (13 for Income Support only households, 5 for Income Support and Housing Benefit households and 2 for Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance and Child Tax Credit households). Where undertaken, the home visits were effective in enabling us to meet with claimants to understand their needs. Should home visits not be successful in locating the customer, further escalations are considered on a case-by-case basis. 

We also identified that booking a home visit was an effective prompt at getting people to contact us directly to advise us if they will or won’t make a claim. We will be taking this learning and incorporating a new step into the journey to advise people that we will be referring them to a home visit in the future Discovery work.  

Extensions 

As with migration activity for Tax Credit-only households, for all other benefit combinations, claimants are able to call the helpline and request an extension if they need more time. Where claimants already have a work coach (e.g. Jobseeker’s Allowance), work coaches can also arrange an extension for their customer if they are having difficulties claiming by their original deadline.   

42 extensions were given to claimants (representing 8% of the migration notices sent). Extensions were put in place for a variety of reasons, including to enable a home visit to be completed, at the request of the individual, or a request from a work coach for their legacy benefit claimant.  

Next steps 

We will continue to learn and iterate our approach as we progress our Move to UC activity and remain committed to ensuring that the transition to UC works as smoothly as possible for all individuals.  

We will be using these initial findings from the Discovery activity to inform our approach to migrating wider groups of legacy claimants at greater scale from April. Our further work will include, but is not limited to: 

• Evaluating the effectiveness of the Migration Notice for other combinations of legacy benefits. 
• Testing the effectiveness of a third reminder in the 3-month deadline window. 
• Reviewing the enhanced support journey and introducing a pre-notification to advise a household of a home visit. 
• Working with other agencies (e.g. local authorities and landlords) to understand how we can further support individuals on housing benefit who are vulnerable. 

More widely, we will also be continuing to support claimants and raise awareness of upcoming Move to UC activity through a planned 2024 advertising campaign and working with a range of external stakeholders and partner organisations.

Annex A – 2022 Discovery data involving wider legacy benefit cohorts

	Migration notices sent	Claimed Universal Credit	Original deadline	of which claimed by +1 week	of which claimed by +2 weeks	of which claimed by +3 weeks or more	Did not claim Universal Credit
Alpha	250	230	170	20	..	30	20
Jobseeker’s Allowance	20	20	20	..	..	0	..
Housing Benefit	90	90	70	10	..	10	00
Employment and Support Allowance	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
Income Support	90	80	60	10	..	10	10
Tax Credits	170	150	110	20	..	20	20
Bravo	260	250	200	20	..	20	10
Jobseeker’s Allowance	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
Housing Benefit	130	120	100	10	..	10	..
Employment and Support Allowance	260	250	200	20	..	20	10
Income Support	..	..	..	..	..	..
Tax Credits	10	10	10	..	..	..	..
Delta	250	230	190	20	..	20	20
Jobseeker’s Allowance	10	10	10	..	..	..	..
Housing Benefit	140	130	110	10	..	10	..
Employment and Support Allowance	130	120	100	10	..	10	..
Income Support	20	20	20	..	..	..	..
Tax Credits	110	90	70	10	..	10	20

Note: individual benefit totals do not sum to totals because people may have been claiming a combination of benefits

’..’ indicates nil or negligible

Source: DWP Management Information

1. Findings are based on cumulative interviews and interactions with claimants and non-claimants who were issued with a Migration Notice between May 2022 and 7th January 2024. ↩

2. Two reminders are sent to customers, a letter and a SMS Text Message, 7 and 10 weeks after the initial migration notice was issued. ↩

3. Tax credit claimants who have capital over £16,000 who normally would not meet UC entitlement conditions in relation to capital, will be able to be eligible for UC, and their capital (in excess of £16,000) will be disregarded for 12 assessment periods. ↩