Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on lowering the taper rate for universal credit.

We have made the taper more generous by reducing the rate from 65 per cent to 63 per cent in April last year. This lowered the rate at which Universal Credit payments reduce when a claimant starts working, meaning claimants can keep more of every pound they earn. We expect this to benefit 3 million families once Universal Credit is fully rolled out.

As the Chancellor set out in the 2017 Autumn Budget, we keep these matters under review.