Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Universal Credit provisions for mixed-age couples who were previously (a) eligible for Housing Benefit and (b) found to have limited capability for work.

Universal Credit (UC) supports people who are on a low income or out of work and helps to ensure that they are better off in work than on benefits. It provides claimants with the support they need to prepare for work, move into work, or to earn more if already in work. In return claimants need to accept a Claimant Commitment following a conversation with their work coach. The claimant commitment sets out what the claimant has agreed to do to prepare for and look for work, or to increase their earnings if already employed. It’s based on the claimant’s personal circumstances, and this is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

It replaces:

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit

It improves work incentives by introducing a smoother, more transparent reduction of benefits at a consistent and predictable rate when people move into work and increase their earnings. A single taper is applied as earnings rise and some claimants will also receive a work allowance depending on their circumstances.

It also reduces the complexity of the working age benefits system and removes the distinction between in work and out-of-work support, thus making clear the potential gains of work and reducing the risks associated with moves into employment.

No recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of Universal Credit provisions for mixed-age couples who were previously (a) eligible for Housing Benefit and (b) found to have limited capability for work.