Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have waited more than five weeks from making an application before receiving their first payment.

The information is not currently available.

Universal Credit is paid to claimants on a monthly basis. This monthly payment cycle mirrors the approach that claimants would experience in work and is designed to prepare claimants for employment. The first payment is made within a calendar month plus a week of the original date of claim, providing all the information required has been supplied by the claimant.