Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the hardship experienced by universal credit claimants who have their early wage payment towards the end of one month counted by HMRC as a second wage payment in a single universal credit assessment period and therefore do not receive universal credit for that period, whether changes will be made to tackle that inflexibility; and if she will make a statement.

Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer during that assessment period. Monthly reporting allows Universal Credit to be adjusted on a monthly basis, which ensures that if a claimant’s income falls, they will not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit.

On 7 June we also announced that we propose to re-award claimants’ transitional protection that has ceased owing to short-term increases in earnings within an assessment period, if they make a new claim to Universal Credit within three months of when they received the additional payment. The written statement can be accessed at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-06-07/HCWS745/