The Department for Work and Pensions has made the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/6), laid on 8 January and in force from 29 January 2026. The instrument amends the 2014 Transitional Regulations to manage the final stages of moving claimants from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. It also confirms the Social Security Advisory Committee did not require formal referral before laying. The changes sit alongside the Welfare Reform Act 2012 provisions that abolish the legacy benefits once migration is complete. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/5/section/33/enacted?utm_source=openai))
The main operational change is to regulation 44 on “migration notices”. Where a notice is issued to someone still entitled to income‑based JSA, income‑related ESA or Income Support, the deadline for claiming UC can now be set to the statutory ‘appointed day’ on which abolition takes effect for that award. For claimants on Housing Benefit alone, the same rule applies by reference to the Housing Benefit appointed day. Regulation 44 already governs notices and deadlines; this amendment permits alignment with abolition dates for cases issued shortly before those dates. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/regulation/44?utm_source=openai))
The instrument defines ‘appointed day’ by reference to commencement orders made under section 150(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012. In practice this ties migration notice deadlines to the calendar dates set in those orders, while disregarding any two‑week “run‑on” that continues a legacy award after migration. The two‑week run‑on derives from the 2019 managed migration regulations and is preserved to avoid gaps in payment. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/5/section/150?utm_source=openai))
This approach mirrors the 2025 amendments used for tax credits, which allowed DWP to set a deadline that matched the 6 April 2025 expiry of tax credits so that claimants could access transitional protection. The 2026 instrument extends that logic to the remaining legacy benefits and Housing Benefit as the abolition timetable concludes. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/3/made?utm_source=openai))
Timing matters because abolition dates are now fixed. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025 appointed 1 April 2026 for the final abolition of income‑based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support (subject to run‑on exceptions) and set out related Housing Benefit arrangements. Aligning migration deadlines with these appointed days reduces the risk that late‑issued notices leave claimants without access to transitional protection. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1148/made?utm_source=openai))
A second change inserts new regulation 63A to deal with Universal Credit claims that initially failed because the Secretary of State could not verify the claimant’s identity. Where the claimant continued on a legacy award and then makes a subsequent UC claim within one month of being told they may do so, DWP may treat them as having remained entitled to the legacy benefit on the relevant date. This deeming restores eligibility for transitional protection that would otherwise be lost because the first UC claim did not lead to an award.
For claimants who previously received a severe disability premium within Income Support, income‑based JSA or income‑related ESA, the new regulation allows DWP to treat them as having been entitled to that premium during the month before the UC award begins. That preserves the path to the ‘transitional SDP’ protections set out in Schedule 2 to the 2014 Transitional Regulations and the additional amounts introduced in Schedule 3 from February 2024. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/schedule/2?utm_source=openai))
Similarly, where the prior legacy award included an enhanced disability premium, a disability premium or a disabled child premium, the new regulation permits DWP to deem entitlement in the month before UC starts so that the additional transitional amounts in Schedule 3 can apply. This ensures disability‑related additions are not foregone solely because a UC claim failed at the identity‑verification stage. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/schedule/3/paragraph/4?utm_source=openai))
For old‑style ESA cases, the deeming provision can also secure the ESA‑related transitional treatment in the 2014 Regulations, which depends on being entitled to ESA on the UC claim date. In effect, if the subsequent claim is made in time after notification, the claimant can be treated as if ESA entitlement continued through to the later UC claim, preserving the intended protection. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/made?utm_source=openai))
For delivery teams and advisers, three implications follow. First, migration notices issued close to abolition dates may now carry a deadline equal to the appointed day; case managers should check letters and diaries accordingly. Second, identity‑verification failures no longer automatically extinguish a claimant’s path to transitional protection where a subsequent claim is made within the notified one‑month window. Third, councils administering Housing Benefit should plan for deadline alignment with the abolition timetable and ensure hand‑offs to UC housing costs proceed without interruption, including in cases benefiting from a two‑week run‑on. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2019/9780111178317?utm_source=openai))