Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of reducing the waiting period for the payment of universal credit payment on foodbank usage in (a) Edgbaston, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

People use food banks for many reasons and it would be misleading to link them to any single cause.

We have made a number of improvements to the waiting period to ensure claimants have enough money to manage until the first Universal Credit payment is made.

New claimants to Universal Credit can apply for a 100% advance if they need some financial support until the first regular payment is made, which can be repaid over 16 months from October 2021.

Since April 2018, claimants have received a two week run-on of housing benefit payments. From July 2020, income related legacy benefits will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made. This measure means that around 1.1 million people will see a one-off gain of approximately £200, between 2020/21 and 2023/24.