Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on employers reporting employees' income to HMRC (a) late and (b) in the wrong assessment period for universal credit.

The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2014, to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting on a Universal Credit payment.

HMRC have recently updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles.

Guidance on payment cycles and their interaction with Universal Credit for claimants is available online through the GOV.UK pages on Universal Credit and on the DWP “Understanding Universal Credit” pages.