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 ability of universal credit claimants to access passported benefits.

Claimants may currently be entitled to a number of other benefits because they are in receipt of Universal Credit. These are known as passported benefits, which include free school meals and free prescriptions. The eligibility criteria for each passported benefit remain the responsibility of the Departments and Devolved Administrations that own them.

Government Departments and Devolved Administrations continue to work closely together to look at how to reduce the complexity of the current passported benefits system and put in place arrangements for Universal Credit, as it expands, that will continue to target available support at those who need it most.

The Department currently signposts Universal Credit households to other financial support via their online account/payment statement, as well as on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/other-financial-support