Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, further to the Social Security Advisory Committee’s letter of 27 May 2020 which stated that it is increasingly untenable for (employment support allowance (ESA) and job seeker's allowance (JSA)) claimants to be excluded and continue to have a lower level of income than those in receipt of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit, if she will commission research into the comparative effect of the covid-19 lockdown on people who are living on (a) £74.35 a week standard allowance for ESA, JSA and Income support and (b) £95 a week paid to those on universal credit, working tax credit and statutory sick pay.

The Department has no current plans to commission such research.

Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants should check their eligibility before applying to Universal Credit as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK.

There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.