Question follow-through · 40875

Universal Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the universal credit assessment period; and whether she plans to change the frequency of that assessment.

answeredDepartment for Work and Pensions

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Work and Pensions
Tabled
24 Mar 2025
Target answer date
26 Mar 2025
Answer
31 Mar 2025 · 7 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Social security and pensions

Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.

Recorded timeline

  1. 24 Mar 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the universal credit assessment period; and whether she plans to change the frequency of that assessment.

  2. 26 Mar 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 31 Mar 2025

    Answer published

    The first payment of Universal Credit is usually made around five weeks after the claim is made. The first calendar month is the initial assessment period, during which information is verified to ensure accurate payments. At the end of that period, entitl...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Universal Credit: Disqualification

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department’s review of Universal Credit will consider (a) the potential impact and effectiveness of the conditionality scheme and (b) the necessity of sanctions for lead carers of children.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment: Advisory Services

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing single-parent specific work coaches.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Universal Credit

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Trussell Trust’s Guarantee our Essentials research, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of uplifting Universal Credit to £120 per week.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Access to Work Programme

2 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase the speed of (a) award decisions and (b) reimbursement payments for the Access to Work scheme.