Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that when a claimants Universal Credit is stopped because they have been admitted to hospital it is re-started without delay when they are discharged.

A single claimant who becomes a hospital in-patient will be treated as having a Limited Capability for Work. As such, they retain their entitlement to Universal Credit and as such there is no end to their Universal Credit claim, and no requirement for them to reclaim.

If the hospitalised claimant is part of a couple, their joint claim will continue, so long as the claimant is or is expected to be discharged within six months. When one partner remains in hospital for longer than six months, we would expect the joint claim to end and an individual claim to be made. Where this is the case and a new claim is made, an advance will be available for up to 100 per cent of the standard allowance, ensuring financial support while a claim is completed.