Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered exempting Lifetime ISAs from Universal Credit capital rules.

There are no plans to change the way savings held in a Lifetime ISA are treated in the assessment of Universal Credit.

It is appropriate that means tested benefits, including Universal Credit, take all forms of savings into account. This includes investments where the Government provides a contribution to encourage saving such as the Lifetime ISA. People will not be required to cash in these ISAs in order to claim Universal Credit, but they will be taken into account as part of their capital. If a person has capital over £16,000, they will be expected to rely on their savings until their capital reduces to £16,000 before they can claim Universal Credit.