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 potential implications of universal credit being paid into one person's account when the claim is in the name of a couple; and if he will make a statement.

If a couple is living together in a household, Universal Credit (UC) normally makes a single award to that household. It is for the couple in the household to determine where their single award is paid. This could be either a joint account or an individual account held by one member of the couple. Within UC it is possible for a payment to be divided between two members of the household. This is known as a Split Payment and it is designed to prevent hardship to the claimant and their family. It is considered in certain specific situations such as domestic violence or where financial abuse occurs and one partner mismanages the UC payment. Our approach is based on the evidence that suggests that only 7% of cohabiting couples and only 2% of married couples keep their finances completely separate.