Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of universal credit data collected by the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security & Child Support) which relates to (a) limited capability for work, (b) right to reside and (c) other issues.
Universal Credit (UC) is a benefit made up of component parts, known as ‘Elements’. An award of UC may comprise one or more Elements, depending on the circumstances of the claimant.
The Elements are:
- Standard allowance
- Child element
- Childcare costs
- Limited cap ability for work-related activity element (LCWRA)
- Carer element
- Housing costs element
For the period October to December 2019, the latest period for which data are available, LCWRA represented 66% of the Elements recorded against UC appeals.
Under each Element is a wide range of disputable issue types. The type of issue most closely corresponding to the category ‘right to reside’ is ‘habitual residence test’ (HRT).
As a proportion of the issues recorded under all Elements of all UC appeals, between October and December 2019, HRT was 7%, with issues other than HRT being 93%.