Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse in each of the next five years arising from the implementation of the Universal Credit (Waiting Days)(Amendment) Regulations 2015.

The principle behind the waiting days is that benefits are not designed to provide cover for brief spells of unemployment.

We expect savings of around £150m per annum which will be used to fund measures to get people off benefit and into work and will particularly help those who are likely to be long­ term benefit recipients.