Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on care leavers.

As we continue to deliver the full Universal Credit service, with its expanded claimant base, we are continually reviewing and refining the way in which we work with vulnerable people, including care leavers.

DWP supports care leavers by creating an entitlement to Universal Credit immediately on day one of leaving care, including exemption from serving seven waiting days at the beginning of their claim. Care leavers also have day one access to Alternative Payment Arrangements and Personal Budgeting Support.

Staff in our jobcentres work with local authority leaving care teams and other organisations which support young people.

Research and analysis relating to care leavers on Universal Credit forms part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ on-going programme of Universal Credit evaluation.