Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the compatibility of her Department’s policy of universal credit being digital by default with her Department’s Debt Management office being contactable only by (a) fax and (b) post rather than by secure email.

Currently, most claimants who want to contact Debt Management call via one of the free phone numbers. However, we recognise the need for an online service to allow claimants to more easily manage any debts that they may have. Therefore, we are developing the Digital Debt Service as a replacement for our current Debt Manager system.

This new system will allow claimants to view details of any debts they have (including the current balance) and make repayments online.