Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of a lower universal credit withdrawal rate on (a) the well-being of claimants, (b) the rate of claimants entering employment, (c) the public purse and (d) the economy.

Universal Credit (UC) is a modern, flexible, personalised benefit reflecting the rapidly changing world of work and replaces six outdated and complex benefits with one – it is simplifying the benefits system and making work pay. UC has proven track record of moving people into work, which is reflected by our record employment rate of 76.5 per cent - up 6.2 per cent since 2010.

The Government has made significant investment to improve work incentives including an extra £1.7 billion a year put into work allowances for working parents and disabled claimants to increase them by £1,000 a year from April 2019. This is providing a boost to the incomes of the lowest paid and result in 2.4 million families keeping an extra £630 per year of what they earn.

Our Business Case setting out some of the most compelling aspects of UC are: the £2bn total cost of investment against a social return to the economy of £34bn over ten years; and an increase of people in employment of 200,000 once fully implemented.