Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of universal credit that moved into full-time employment.

Since 2010, we are helping on average 1,000 more people into work each and every day – the vast majority of which are full-time permanent roles.

Universal Credit replaces six benefits with one, to simplify the system and make work pay. As a result, people claiming Universal Credit move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings. Universal Credit also provides more help with childcare costs, a dedicated Work Coach, scraps the 16-hour ‘cliff edge’ and the prohibitive tax rates should someone start work. When it is fully rolled out we expect Universal Credit will generate £8 billion in economic benefits every year and increase the total number of hours worked by 113 million per year for those already in work.

In our recent Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey, we found around six in ten claimants were looking to increase their hours and/or income, primarily by increasing the hours of their existing role. The survey can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey.

Further information on the impact of Universal Credit on the labour market can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-its-impact-on-the-labour-market