Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for an initial information-gathering interview at the Cavendish Court Job Centre Sheffield; and whether that waiting time has an effect on the time taken to pay universal credit.

Not all claimants will require any initial evidence interview at the start of their Universal Credit claim.

If an interview is required, claimants will receive notification to book an interview via their online Universal Credit account at the start of their claim and are encouraged to make contact at the earliest opportunity. In addition, a further prompt will be sent after 7 days if no interview has been booked.

Cavendish Court Jobcentre went live with Universal Credit full service on 7 November.

The average waiting period at Cavendish Court Jobcentre for initial interview (working days) was as follows:

W/E 16/11 – 3 days

W/E 23/11 – 5 days

W/E 30/11 – 2 days

For comparison, the average waiting period within the District of South Yorkshire for initial interview (working days) was as follows:

W/E 16/11 – 3 days

W/E 23/11 – 3 days

W/E 30/11 – 2 days

We strive to deliver a quick and effective service to all claimants. Claimants have 30 days in which to make contact to book an initial interview. The closer the date of the initial interview is to the end of the 30 day period could potentially impact on the date a first payment is made. In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, satisfying the Habitual Residency Test, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings.