Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit applicants wait more than (a) six and (b) 10 weeks after making their claim before they receive any income in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK.

We are intending to publish further data on payment timeliness in due course, but our latest internal data nationally, suggests around 80% of cases are paid in full at the end of the first assessment period.

For the remaining cases we estimate around a third have not signed up to their claimant commitment so cannot be paid until they have. The other two thirds have an outstanding verification issue, such as providing bank statements, evidence of childcare costs, or proof of rent. Many of these claimants receive a part-payment where elements of the claim have been verified.