Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) financial and (b) administrative impact of differing mileage allowance rates for DWP and HMRC on self-employed people who are also in receipt of Universal Credit.

No assessment is currently available.

While the Department’s permitted expenses framework is designed to align, wherever feasible, with the approach taken by HMRC, the tax and welfare systems serve different purposes and operate under different legislative frameworks so complete alignment is not always possible. The Department does routinely keep its policies under review.