Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the claimant commitment signed by a universal credit claimant takes account of any hours of paid work already being performed by a claimant when setting the number of hours a week that claimant is required to spend actively seeking work.

Work coaches should take into account the hours of paid work that a claimant is doing each week and reduce the expected hours of work search accordingly.

All work-related requirements are set in discussion with claimants, are tailored to their personal circumstances and capacity, and recorded in their claimant commitment. This includes agreement of the total time they have available and can be expected to be engaged in work related activities. Hours of paid work that the claimant then does will be counted towards that total and will reduce the hours available for other work activities, including work search.