Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2019 to Question 240482, whether there are plans to increase the number of universal credit claimants accessing the Money and Pension service.

For Universal Credit (UC) claimants, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), will continue to deliver the support previously provided by the Money Advice Service. MaPS will help UC claimants with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance. Since February 2017, work coaches in job centres have signposted thousands of UC claimants to Money Manager, an online budgeting tool to help people as they move onto UC, unless a referral to local, face-to-face support is more appropriate.

For those UC claimants who are in most need of debt advice, MaPS will continue to work with the DWP and other agencies to ensure that they are signposted and referred quickly to local provision – MaPS funds free-to-consumer debt advice in England through a network of providers including StepChange, the Money Advice Trust and Citizens Advice.