Universal Credit

(asked on 14th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2022 to Question 12061, on Universal Credit, whether her Department has commissioned research to investigate the proportion of Employment Support Allowance claimants who do not have digital access to enable management of an online journal.


Answered by
David Rutley Portrait
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 23rd March 2022

The department annually publishes Customer Survey data obtained for claimants; the last set of data is published from 2018/19. More up to date data was not collated due to Covid-19. In the departments last data set 93% of claimants have access to the internet.

For those who do not have access to internet, Jobcentre Plus offices across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. Work Coaches will also share information with claimants regarding internet providers’ social internet tariffs.

For the minority that are still unable to access online services,the department is able to support those individuals through telephone claims.

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