Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of average universal credit payments in meeting the costs of living.
The Secretary of State is legally required to conduct an annual review of benefits and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices and earnings.
The up-rating process for working age benefits has traditionally relied on the September CPI figure and in April 2021 Universal Credit was increased by CPI of 0.5%.
Universal Credit can include support for housing costs, children and childcare costs, and support for disabled people and carers, depending on a claimant’s individual circumstances.