Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the potential effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to the standard allowance of universal credit on the cost to the public purse of spending on health.

The Government has always been clear that the £20 per week increase to Universal Credit was a temporary measure to support households whose incomes and earnings were affected by the economic shock of Covid-19.

There have been significant positive developments in the public health and economic situation since the uplift was first announced and later extended. Now that the economy has reopened, the Government is focusing on supporting people to move into and progress in work.

As part of the comprehensive Plan for Jobs, the Government has announced the £2 billion Kickstart scheme which will create 250,000 new, fully subsidised jobs for young people, and the new three-year Restart programme, which will provide intensive and tailored support to over one million unemployed Universal Credit claimants.