Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library a memorandum setting out in respect of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) employment and support allowance and (c) universal credit (i) those prompts within the computer system designed to alert staff to cases in which claimants are waiting more than 10 days for the determination of their claims and (ii) the circumstances in which those cases are reported to managers.

The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit creates a fixed period between date of entitlement and the first payment. Advances are available for people who are in financial need during the initial period before their first payment.

The Universal Credit Full Service digital system ensures that all agents and their managers are automatically aware in real time of any claimants on their caseload for whom a payment is due to be paid, or of any claimant for whom a payment will be due shortly, for which there are outstanding actions required.

For Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseekers Allowance, the relevant computer system alerts staff in the event that any claim has not been processed and made ready for payment seven days after receipt of the claim. The target for processing a claim ready for payment is 10 days and, every day, the computer automatically produces a list of cases that are approaching that target to help ensure cases are put in payment on time.