Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what employment support initiatives his Department plans to fund from savings arising from implementation of the Universal Credit (Waiting Days) (Amendment) Regulations 2015; and when he plans to commence those initiatives.

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.

These include English Language Training, targeting those for whom language is a barrier to work, and additional voluntary support for lone parents with children aged 3-4.