Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit applications her Department has received from claimants citing that a third or subsequent child was conceived as a result of rape in each year since 2015; and how many of those applications were received in (a) each UK region and nation and (b) the Pontypridd constituency in each of those years.

The policy to provide support for a maximum of two children was implemented in 2017. Statistics related to the policy, by nation, was published in July 2020 and can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2020

The table below provides data on the Number of Households Exempt from the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children due to Non-Consensual Conception, at April 2019 and April 2020.

Notes:

1. Regional information is only available for approximately 97% of data
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
3. A number of households have exemptions in more than one category. They are counted once in each appropriate category and only once in the total

Due to Statistical disclosure controls data is not available for 2018 or at constituency level, to avoid the release of confidential data.