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Written question asked by Mark Hendrick (Labour) on Monday, 8 October 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 10 October 2018. It was answered by Lord Sharma (Conservative) on Monday, 22 October 2018 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Universal Credit: Preston

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of delays in the payment of universal credit benefits on (a) food bank use and (b) child poverty levels in Preston.

Answer

Under the legacy system £2.4 billion of benefits did not get paid at all because claimants could not navigate the complexity of the system. Universal Credit puts this right, ensuring this money goes to 700,000 claimants who need it.

There are many and varied reasons why people use food banks and it is misleading to link this to any single cause. People on Universal Credit move into work faster and stay in work longer. Work offers families the best opportunity to move out of poverty and Universal Credit strengthens incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. There are 300,000 fewer children in absolute poverty compared with 2010 – a record low.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
175952
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Children Poverty Preston Universal credit Food banks
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk