Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the preparedness of digital systems to respond to a potential increase in the volume of universal credit claims during the process of managed migration.

Managed migration will begin in 2019, with small-scale testing to ensure that our process works well, before we increase the volume of migration in 2020. The Department is committed to ensuring that Universal Credit Full Service is rolled out safely and responsibly, which includes taking the appropriate time to test and learn to minimise risks in delivery and service. The IT system currently supports and pays over 1 million people each month, increasing in size fivefold over the course of the last year as we have expanded our services across the country.

The Universal Credit Full Service system achieved 99.997% availability for claimants in the last year, rivalling the performance of other leading digital services. We are building an agile, adaptable system, fit for the 21st century, to help people to transform their lives through work - while supporting those who cannot work and are most in need.