Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his most recent estimate is of the date on which the last new claims will be made for jobseeker’s allowance.

Esther McVey

The closure of new claims to Tax credits will be informed by the Universal Credit implementation plans. DWP current planning assumptions are that the Universal Credit service will be available in each part of Great Britain during 2016, having closed down new claims to the legacy benefits it replaced; with the majority of the remaining legacy case load moving to Universal Credit during 2016 and 2017. Final decisions on these elements of the programme will be informed by the development of the enhanced digital solution.

We will continue to work closely with HMRC on the specific process and timing for the closure of new claims to Working Tax Credit.