Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide a telephone helpline for hon. Members and their staff to make enquiries for constituents on universal credit cases.

For MPs the dedicated local Complaints Resolution Team or Jobcentre Plus District Manager is the best route to raise issues on behalf of their constituents, this route works well because MPs’ offices can establish local relationships.

We have recently confirmed that claimants do not need to give consent for MPs and their caseworkers to raise concerns. It is also important to remember that, in the Universal Credit full service, claimants, service centre staff and Work Coaches have access to a claimant’s online journal, which holds the details of a claim. In effect, any of these colleagues can provide the service that an MPs’ hotline would deliver.

We are also currently writing to MPs as the full service goes live in their constituency. These letters explain the implicit consent arrangements for MPs. The letters also give the telephone number and email address of the District Manager in the constituency so that MPs can contact District Managers if there are urgent constituent cases that need attention.