Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June to Question 3411 on Social Work: Training, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of not including Step Up to Social Work bursary payments for the purposes of assessing Universal Credit claims.

No estimate has been made. Students are unable to claim Universal Credit if they are studying full-time, unless they meet specific exceptions. Universal Credit is designed not to duplicate financial support for fees and living costs provided through the student finance system.

If an eligible student makes a claim to Universal Credit, any loan or grant which provides for the student's basic maintenance is taken into account as income. The first £110 of a student loan or grant paid to meet living costs is disregarded in every monthly Assessment Period in which student income is taken into account in order to help students with any added costs of books, equipment and travel which may be incurred whilst studying or training.