PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Universal Credit: North West (29 October 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of new universal credit claimants have waited longer than five weeks for initial payment in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside and (c) Wallasey constituency in each month since January 2018.

Asked by:
Dame Angela Eagle (Labour)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

I refer the hon Member to Question 177770 which provides national data for the period January to June 2018.

In many cases, where full payment is not made on time by the end of the first assessment period, this is as a result of unresolved issues such as: some claimants have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks, and the others have outstanding verification issues, such as for housing and self-employed earnings. Whilst this verification is on-going, many of these claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved.

Answered by:
Lord Sharma (Conservative)
1 November 2018