Universal Credit: Prisoners' Release

(asked on 28th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for universal credit from prison leavers have been (a) turned down and (b) delayed due to lack of ID in each year since its introduction.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 8th July 2019

Currently, we cannot identify and collate data on prison leavers on the Universal Credit platform in a systematic way. Due to this, we do not hold the information requested.

We are committed to gathering better data to support claimants with complex needs and have prioritised this as part of the wider work programme for Universal Credit, anything we do will be introduced incrementally and would be broad across complex needs rather than focusing on one particular group.

DWP and MoJ are working closely to deliver an improved Universal Credit claim process for prison leavers. We continue to work collaboratively with MoJ to explore options to overcome a number of issues, including the use of prison documentation as proof of identity for Universal Credit claims. We also continue to explore options for claims to be made via telephony channels.

At present, there are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity for Universal Credit purposes: online using the gov.uk verify service; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions, for those who do not have identity documents.

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