Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the roll-out of universal credit on the health and wellbeing of disabled claimants who are currently claiming enhanced disability premium and severe disability premium.

The core design of Universal Credit for claimants with limited capability for work and work related activity has remained as intended since its introduction in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the impacts were analysed then.

We continue to evaluate the policy as it is delivered. The Universal Credit Evaluation is a comprehensive and multi-dimensional programme of analysis designed to assess economic, social and behavioural impacts of the Universal Credit experience. Research and analysis is conducted to provide continuous tracking and inform the evaluation and the expansion of Universal Credit, focusing specifically on the effects of Universal Credit on all claimants’ behaviours and outcomes.

We have always said that there will be transitional protection for those with existing premiums who move over to Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process, whose overall Universal Credit entitlement would be less than under the old system, provided that their circumstances remain the same.

Claimants who naturally move to Universal Credit will do so because they have had a change of circumstances. In such cases claimants will continue to have their new welfare support entitlement calculated based on the Universal Credit rules of their new benefit.