Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit claimants have additional support needs; and how are such claimants identified, monitored and supported.
Answered on
12 December 2018
The information requested is not currently held in a consistent format by the Department.
We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.
To assist identification and claimant support, each Jobcentre Plus site has a complex needs toolkit in place. These are maintained and reviewed locally and contain a named single point of contact for areas such as Homelessness, Care leavers and Prison leavers.
Work coaches receive training to help them identify and support vulnerable claimants, building a relationship to encourage claimants to openly discuss any concerns or problems as they emerge. We have introduced a function to ‘pin’ key profile notes so they are instantly visible to all staff helping a claimant.
To help claimants who may struggle using online services or managing a monthly payment, Universal Support is available. This is advice, assistance or support to help Universal Credit claimants with managing their claim or award of Universal Credit administered by Citizen’s Advice following our brand new partnership.
We have also increased the numbers of Disability Employment Advisers who now provide additional support to the work coaches so they can better personalise support as we continuously improve the offer available.