Universal Credit

(asked on 4th September 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether frontline staff of his Department are required to inform new universal credit claimants of the availability of advance payments of that credit during their waiting period to receive payments of that credit.


Answered by
Damian Hinds Portrait
Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 11th September 2017

Any need for an advance payment or other financial or budgeting support should be established at the outset of a claim for Universal Credit. This includes existing benefit claimants who move to Universal Credit through a change of circumstances. In the initial new claim interview, work coaches are trained to offer personal budgeting support and assess whether claimants need help to manage until their first Universal Credit payment. If so they are advised to apply for an advance. Furthermore, additional work has been done by the Department to raise awareness of advances nationally, including providing options on the UC Helpline, and signposting through the new “Universal Credit & you” guide for claimants and on the new online Money Manager tool offered by the Money Advice Service. We will shortly be publishing data on advances.

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