Universal Credit

(asked on )

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many home visits were made by work coaches in respect of universal credit claimants with complex needs prior to making a referral to a decision-maker on whether or not to consider a sanction in 2017-18.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 23rd April 2018

The information on the number of home visits made to Universal Credit claimants, with complex needs prior to a referral to a Decision Maker for consideration of a sanction, is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Between April 2017 and March 2018 290,000 cleared home visit referrals were made across all the Departments service lines.

The Department has clear processes and guidance in place to safeguard claimants with complex needs and ensure that their personal circumstances are considered before a sanction referral is made to a decision maker.

The guidance available to staff advises that a home visit would be appropriate

when a claimant has been identified as being vulnerable or having complex needs due to health issues or where they are unable to access our services through the normal channels of communication as an individual or through a friend, family member or Third party stakeholder partner.

To safeguard our claimants and provide further support in the event that a sanction is being considered, a home visit would be arranged to help determine whether the claimant has fully understood their commitments, and a sanction referral would not be considered until at least two attempts have been made to complete a home visit and all other attempts to contact the claimant have failed.

Reticulating Splines