Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of his Department's recent policy change in paying Universal Credit's Housing Element directly to claimants rather than to landlords and housing providers on the timeliness of rent payments.

No assessment has been made.

Universal Credit is designed to mirror the world of work in order to ease the transition back into employment. The intention is that the same considerations and choices faced by people not in receipt of benefits should also face those claiming benefits. Expecting claimants to manage their own finances helps to achieve this.

The Department understands that some claimants will require support to help them handle monthly payments and has put in place procedures to address this.