Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department provides to ensure that people impacted by the Post Office Horizon scandal are aware that compensation payments are exempt from Universal Credit means testing; and whether a review is underway to help support people who have not received their benefit entitlement due to a lack of awareness.

Payments of compensation from the Post Office compensation scheme have been indefinitely disregarded as capital and income from the calculation of Universal Credit. Please see guidance below for customers relating to special compensation payments.

Universal Credit: money, savings and investments - GOV.UK

The Department has added this scheme to internal guidance for staff and decisionmakers to make them aware that payments should be disregarded.