Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of universal credit claimants who were paid (i) monthly and (ii) weekly prior to claiming the benefit.

Our evidence suggests that around 70% of people in employment on low incomes are paid monthly or 4 weekly. The Universal Credit monthly assessment period and payment structure therefore mirrors the world of work while providing the flexibility to adjust when claimants move in and out of work regularly. An assessment period of less than a month would not work for anyone who is monthly paid. In contrast, an assessment period of a month means the system can adjust to weekly fortnightly or four-weekly payments.

As of 13 July 2017 there are 570,000 claimants on the Universal Credit caseload of which 220,000 (39%) are in employment. We do not have quality assured data on the payment cycles of universal credit claimants who are in work, or for those who were in work before they claimed, and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.