Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to make benefit claimants aware of (a) short-term benefit advances and (b) hardship payments.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the oral answer given to him by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Official Report, 8 December 2014, column 633. The Secretary of State set out how the department will be doing more to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.

The department has already made improvements to the hardship process. In July 2014 we strengthened guidance for work coaches so that all claimants are informed about how and when they can make an application for hardship payment and processing times have also been improved.