Universal Credit: Housing

(asked on 23rd November 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate expertise in local housing market conditions among staff administering universal credit in jobcentres.


Answered by
Priti Patel Portrait
Priti Patel
This question was answered on 26th November 2015

The role of DWP is to administer the payment of Universal Credit (UC) and within that there is a Housing Cost element. The Local Authorities (LA) and Valuation Office keep their existing roles by providing valuation and housing advice. UC claims are assessed in UC service centres, not jobcentres.

UC is being rolled out in a safe and controlled way to allow us to adapt and grow the capability we need over time. To support UC in assessment of the housing costs as part of delivering the live service, LA staff have been seconded on a short term basis to support improvements in housing cost knowledge for staff in UC Service centres.

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