Universal Credit: Disability

(asked on 13th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have made new claims for universal credit since 23 March 2020.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 21st May 2020

Currently we do not report aggregate information about whether or not a claimant has a disability or a specific health condition and to collate and quality assure this information would incur disproportionate costs. We do not store whether a claimant meets the legal definition of having a disability in a way that is readily available to analysts, however claimants are invited to provide The Department with the details of any health conditions that restrict their ability to work and this information, when verified, will be used to tailor the available support.

The Department takes seriously the need to support claimants with a disability. We are committed to supporting those with disabilities or those with a restricted ability to work, by ensuring that claimants are treated with the utmost sensitivity and care, when making a claim to Universal Credit. Universal Credit provides enhanced, personalised support for all claimants, including those with disabilities. Our work coaches receive training to ensure they can offer effective support to different claimant groups. This enables them to provide tailored support and gain an excellent understanding of whether their claimants have conditions that require extra support.

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