Universal Credit: Internet

(asked on 21st June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will take urgent steps to remove barriers within the universal credit online system to ensure that people who need help to maintain their universal credit account are able to receive it.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

There are no barriers to claiming Universal Credit, as there is already assistance available to make and maintain their Universal Credit claim using the Freephone Universal Credit helpline.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres have remained open for anyone who needed face-to-face support and could not be helped in any other way. Since 12 April 2021, Jobcentres in England and Wales have resumed full face to face services, returning to normal opening hours from 9am to 5pm. Jobcentres in Scotland have restarted the same full face to face service since 26 April 2021. All Jobcentre Plus offices across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. Work Coaches will continue to support those maintain their Universal Credit claim. To support our ongoing commitment in helping claimants, we have recruited an additional 13,500 Work Coaches in our Jobcentres.

The Department is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society, in both making and maintaining their claim. Help to Claim delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. This support has been bolstered by the announcement of a further 12 months of funding this year for Help to Claim.

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