Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Sherlock on 18 March (HL Deb col 1203), whether the above-inflation increase in the standard rate of Universal Credit by the end of this Parliament represents an above-inflation increase in any year other than 2026–27.

The announced increase in the standard allowance will see an above inflation increase in every year from 2026/27 to the end of Parliament.

The proposed increases are inflation (measured by CPI), plus: 2.3% in 2026/27, 3.1% in 2027/28, 4.0% in 2028/29 and 4.8% in 2029/30.

As such, in each year, the rates will be what they would have been under CPI uprating and then increased by the relevant percentage figure.