Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the risk of poverty among universal credit claimants whose payments are suspended whilst their case is with the Universal Credit Risk Review Department.

Any decision by the Risk Review Team to suspend a claim to benefit is not made lightly. Suspending a claim would be a last resort, based on the risk that a person may not be entitled to receive a benefit payment.

Should a claim be suspended, once the Risk Review Team is in possession of all material requested and a decision is made that a person is entitled to benefit, then any suspension can be lifted immediately.