Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with (a) Glasgow Housing Association, (b) Southside Housing Association, (c) Elderpark Housing Association, (d) Glenoaks Housing Association, (e) Govan Housing Association, (f) Linthouse Housing Association, (g) Rosehill Housing Association, (h) Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association, (i) Home Group Scotland and (j) Blackwood Housing on (i) service rollout of universal credit and (ii) access to the Landlord Portal; and if she will make a statement.

Following the successful pilot of the Landlord Portal Service, DWP is enrolling more landlords in stages, in tandem with the expansion of Universal Credit Full Service. Priority has been placed on enrolling the largest landlords that are eligible where possible in order to maximise the number of Universal Credit claimants that can be handled via the portal. By December 2018 we will have covered 90% of social tenancies on the portal, and we are looking at how best to complete rollout for small landlords.

Representatives from all the organisations listed have been invited to Universal Credit Full Service events, jointly hosted by DWP and Glasgow City Council, with the vast majority attending. Those that have not attended have had follow up calls or visits and will be invited to future events. All Registered Social Landlords have now been given escalation contacts for each Jobcentre, and we will continue to work closely with landlords, local authorities, housing associations and other organisations to ensure the successful rollout of Universal Credit.