Universal Credit

(asked on 22nd October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of creating a work allowance for second earners as part of universal credit.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 11th December 2018

We have not made an assessment.

Universal Credit targets resources towards reducing the number of workless households, by increasing the incentive for at least one member of the household to enter work. Compared to children from working families, children who grow up in workless families are almost twice as likely to not reach the expected attainment level at all stages of their education, and are also more likely to be workless themselves in adult life. Helping at least one person into work could help break the cycle of worklessness in a family.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2018, on 29 October 2018, work allowances will be increased by £1000 a year from April 2019. This increase for working parents and people with disabilities, means 2.4 million households will be up to £630 better off per year, in a package worth £1.7bn by 2023/24.

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