Committee to question DWP ministers on temporary increase to Universal Credit

14 September 2021

Welfare Delivery Minister Will Quince and Employment Minister Mims Davies are to face questions from the Work and Pensions Committee on the Government’s decision to end the temporary £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit brought in during the pandemic.

The Committee recommended in a report in February that the increase should be maintained for another year ‘at the very least’, while a joint letter to the Government in July from the Committee and its counterparts in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Senedd and Scottish Parliament warned that removing the uplift risked forcing hundreds of thousands of people into poverty.

Last week the Committee heard from people about their experiences of claiming UC during the pandemic and the potential consequences of losing the uplift.

The Ministers are likely to be asked about their assessment of the impact of removing the increase on different groups, including disabled people and those with children. They could also face questions on trends in number of people claiming UC, the effectiveness of Government employment schemes and how the change to UC is being communicated.

Government statistics show that there were six million people receiving Universal Credit by January 2021, up from about three million in March 2020. Removal of the £20 a week uplift on 6th October as planned will mean the standard rate will go down to £257.33 a month for single claimants aged under 25, or £324.84 a month for single claimants over 25.

Witnesses

Thursday 15 September 2021

At 10.20am:

Will Quince MP, Minister for Welfare Delivery
Mims Davies MP, Minister for Employment

Further information

Image: Dominic Lipinski