Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee, published 26 February 2019, which found that in 2018-19 the local authority had referred 539 universal credit cases back to her Department due to accuracy queries, of which 197 were still outstanding.

The vast majority of Universal Credit (UC) claimants’ claims are administered in real time and accurately. Every UC award is calculated based on the circumstances of individuals during each assessment period, taking into account savings, assets and income.

All claimants have a responsibility to notify the Department about changes in their circumstances, as this could alter the monthly award and/or the responsibilities associated with receiving UC.