Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on removing the current eligibility criteria for foreign nationals to claim Universal Credit.

The Department is playing an active role in work across Government connected to the Home Office’s recent White Paper ‘Restoring Control Over the Immigration System’. This includes membership in the Labour Market Advisory Group alongside the Migration Advisory Committee, Industrial Strategy Advisory Council and Skills England and devolved equivalents. The White Paper sets out ambitious changes including plans to increase the standard qualifying period for settlement and access to public funds benefits from five to ten years.