Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that newly recognised refugees receive the first payment of universal credit within 28 days of their application.

DWP and the Home Office have recently introduced a supported handover process to assist newly recognised refugees needing assistance to claim benefits. This enables those participating in the process to access benefits by the end of the 28 day move on period, either through their claim to legacy benefits being processed by day 28, or through the offer of an advance payment of benefit that is made at their work-focused interview if they are being considered for Universal Credit. New claimants can already receive an advance of up to 50% of their estimated entitlement and this will increase to 100% later this month. Their repayment period may also move from six months to 12 months accordingly.