Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Christmas bonus paid to claimants of certain benefits has been abolished for claimants moving to Universal Credit; and whether they made any announcement about that change.
The qualifying conditions for the Christmas Bonus (which has been set out at £10 since it was introduced in 1972) are published on Gov.uk. The qualifying benefits that produce entitlement to a Christmas Bonus are non means tested benefits, such as Attendance Allowance, Personal Independent Payment and Carer’s Allowance. The income-related working age benefits that Universal Credit replaces were not treated as a qualifying benefit for Christmas Bonuses and therefore the payment of Universal Credit does not directly produce entitlement to the Christmas Bonus.