Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress has been made with housing associations in (a) Glasgow South West constituency and (b) Glasgow on their access to information from the Landlord Portal on universal credit claimants; and if she will make a statement.

The Universal Credit Landlord Portal allows social landlords who are registered users, to verify rent and submit managed payment requests through the Landlord Portal, rather than through the established email processes.

Our Trusted Partner scheme allows social landlords to play a key role in engaging with their tenants who are on Universal Credit, helping those who cannot manage their housing payments to access the support available and to request that managed payments are in place where appropriate.

There are now over 750 Social Landlords using the Portal and Trusted Partner scheme, and enrolment onto the Portal & Trusted Partner remains open for any eligible Social Landlords (further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords/landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords). The total number of landlords currently enrolled on the Portal represent around 96% of the total Social Rented Sector housing stock.

The Department maintains guidance on GOV.UK, relevant for private and social sector landlords, with information about Universal Credit including the Landlord Portal which has existed since 2017. This can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-rented-housing--2/universal-credit-and-rented-housing-guide-for-landlords