Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2017 to Question 108191, on universal credit, what rationale was used to establish the current maximum value of advanced payments.

The maximum amount of an advance following a new claim to Universal Credit is 50% of a claimant’s total indicative award or 100% where the claimant’s payment due date has passed. We think that the maximum amount of 50% strikes the right balance between supporting claimants with their living expenses and ensuring they have the ability to repay. No assessment has been made of how advances interact with poverty rates because advances are designed to meet a claimant’s immediate short term financial need and are not intended to address poverty rates. Universal Credit is helping to improve people’s lives by making work pay by moving people into work and allowing individuals to keep more of their earned income.