Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to alter the timetable to roll out universal credit in Liverpool; and if she will make a statement.

The national roll-out of Universal Credit is nearing completion with over 85% of job centres already live, with this process set to fully complete by the end of 2018.

Stopping roll-out would result in confusion for claimants already receiving Universal Credit, and for others who would be trapped for longer in a legacy benefit system consisting of 6 different benefits, each with separate rules, interacting in complicated ways, and creating perverse incentives. Universal Credit replaces these benefits simplifying the system and making work pay. As a result, people claiming Universal Credit move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings.