Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the financial effect on disabled people of the replacement of six income-related benefits with universal credit; and if she will make a statement.

Comparisons between entitlement in legacy benefits and Universal Credit fail to reflect that, until recently, people only claimed Universal Credit as a result of a change in their circumstances.

It is important to remember that there are £2.4 billion of unclaimed benefits not going to the people who need them because they are unaware of how to claim, or that they may be entitled. Universal Credit makes sure that welfare payments reach those who need them most, and when we complete moving legacy benefit claimants over to Universal Credit, an estimated 700,000 more people will get paid their full entitlement because of Universal Credit.

The Government have committed to spending in excess of £3 billion over 10 years on transitional protection for 1.1 million households. This will help fund assistance for those moving from Housing Benefit to Universal Credit including a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.

Overall the Government are spending £55 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. That’s a record high and up £10 billion in real terms since 2010.