Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Universal Credit

Monday 13 May 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Paula Barker asked about the number of in-work universal credit claimants whose payments were stopped due to Department errors in the last year.
  • Paula Barker raised a case involving a constituent, Georgina Mitchell, a nurse and single mother whose universal credit was intermittently stopped since October.
  • The Minister offered to look into the specific case if Paula Barker provided further details.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Paula Barker Lab Liverpool Wavertree
Benefits & Welfare
Context

In-work universal credit claimants have had payments stopped due to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) errors. The question seeks an estimate of such cases over the past 12 months.

Question

If he will make an estimate of the number of in-work universal credit claimants that have had payments stopped due to errors made by his Department in the last 12 months.

Answer from Paul Maynard

No estimate has been made, but customers can request a mandatory reconsideration if they do not agree with a decision to stop their universal credit.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Estimate of the number of affected claimants

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Q2 Paula Barker Lab Liverpool Wavertree
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Georgina Mitchell, a single mother working as a nurse with two children with additional needs, has faced intermittent stops of her universal credit benefits due to erroneous DWP records. Despite local officials' assurances, the issue persists.

Question

My constituent Georgina Mitchell is a single mum to three children, two of whom have additional needs. She works as a nurse and is in receipt of universal credit. The Minister says that work pays, but since October, Georgina has had her benefits stopped intermittently because the DWP has falsely recorded her earnings as £19,000 one month, £12,000 the next, and so on and so forth. She cannot pay her social landlord, and her ability to pay for childcare is severely impacted. I have raised the matter with local officials, but despite assurances, it keeps happening. She cannot sort this, and despite my interventions, I cannot seem to sort it. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister investigate the matter urgently, and advise me on why these mistakes keep happening and on what will be done to ensure that they do not happen again?

Answer from Paul Maynard

I am very concerned to hear about the case that the hon. Lady has raised. I am more than happy to look into it if she contacts me further, and I recognise the urgency with which we would need to do that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures to prevent future errors

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