Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 18 May 2022, Official Report, Column 679, what the evidential basis is for 300,000 more people moving off welfare and into work on the Way to Work programme in the last month.

As published in PQ6950, as of 22 May at least 347,300 unemployed Universal Credit (UC) claimants moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 22 May 2022.

The comments referenced in Official Report, Column 679 were based on having moved over 300,000 UC claimants into work during the Way to Work Campaign, this cumulative figure having been achieved in the last month. Please refer to PQ 6950 to see our current estimate of the number of claimants moved into work in the month of April, based on our internally management information. In April 102,900 people moved into work, a rate of 9.9%, the highest rate for any April on record.

The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.