Universal Credit: Court of Appeal Judgment Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Court of Appeal Judgment

Baroness Stroud Excerpts
Monday 29th June 2020

(4 years, 4 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Stedman-Scott Portrait Baroness Stedman-Scott [V]
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I am pleased to say that the figure of 85,000 that the noble Baroness refers to is not one that resonates with us. We believe that the number of people impacted by this judgment is in the region of 1,000. We are assessing the situation. We got the judgment only on Monday, but we will keep the House fully up to date with decisions made in relation to it.

Baroness Stroud Portrait Baroness Stroud (Con) [V]
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Will my noble friend the Minister outline what assessment has been made of the resilience and ability of the universal credit system to process such significant increases in applications in recent weeks? Has the digital design of universal credit enabled it to support an unprecedented number of people in recent months?

Baroness Stedman-Scott Portrait Baroness Stedman-Scott [V]
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I can tell my noble friend Lady Stroud that we have been amazed and pleased that the universal credit digital system has shown enormous resilience. We have had a 600% increase in claims, and the vast majority of people have been paid in full and on time. Without wishing to be disrespectful in any way, this would never have happened under the legacy system.