Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has made an assessment of the circumstances affecting whether armed forces personnel become eligible for Universal Credit.

No estimate has been made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who do not declare their veteran status. UC claimants are asked about their armed forces status when declaring or reporting changes in their work and earnings and UC agents are also able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.

This Government believes it is important to identify veterans and serving personnel, so we can ensure they can get all the help and support they need. For more information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3093, where the Department explained the current progress in identifying such claimants.

No assessment has been made of reasons for any increase, the number of UC claimants recorded as previously served or currently serving has been stable since June 2023.

Serving armed forces personnel claiming Universal Credit will be no different to other UC claimants.