Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission research into the effectiveness of Universal Support in meeting the support needs of Universal Credit claimants.

‘Local Support Services’ and ‘Universal Support’ are the same. We started referring to the service as Universal Support in 2014/15.

We published the Local Support Services Framework on 11 February 2013. The evidence from the Universal Support trials around joint working to support the needs of our disadvantaged customers informed the DWP Improving Lives policy paper (April 2017).

There are no current plans to commission research in to the effectiveness of Universal Support but as announced by Secretary of State on 23 November 2017, we are exploring the scope for greater collaborative working with Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to help claimants locally as they move to Universal Credit, within the Universal Support framework approach.

Annual funding provided to Universal Credit for delivery of Universal Support is:

• 2013/14 - £1.3m

• 2014/15 - £8.4m

• 2015/16 - £15.4m

• 2016/17 - £13.1m

• 2017/18 - £21.5m