Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing work search requirements for universal credit claimants whose youngest child is aged three or above on the (a) welfare and (b) development of those children.

No assessment is planned on the potential impact of increasing work search requirements for Universal Credit claimants whose youngest child is three or above on that child’s welfare or development. However, evidence suggests that parental employment substantially reduces the risk of child poverty.