Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of universal credit payments and administration in each year since 2014.
The table below shows the cost to the public purse of Universal Credit Payments, this information has been published in the Spring Statement in April 2019 and can also be found via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2019
| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
Expenditure by benefit, £ million, nominal terms | 6 | 56 | 491 | 1,585 | 3,322 | 8,116 |
The table below shows the estimate of the total cost of Benefit Handling Processes in UC for each financial year from 2014. Benefit Handling Processes are the cost DWP has incurred administering claims to UC and making UC payments.
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
Benefit Handling Processes, £ million | 10.6 | 75.3 | 142.5 | 261.8 | 272.0 |