Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the section on universal credit in his Department's 2011 business plan, for what reasons the aim 'Launch pilot pathfinder in advance of national rollout' has been changed to 'launch pathfinder in advance of national rollout', and the completion date changed from March to October 2013; and what the implications are of this change for the pathfinder.

Steve Webb: It is the Department's intention to run a staged pathfinder ahead of the national launch of universal credit. This will trial the process with claimants in a specific location, and then we will move to a gradual national roll-out from October 2013 over a four year period, which is entirely appropriate for such far-reaching changes. The pathfinder is not a “pilot” because this is real implementation for a specific group of claimants, and will start to run from April 2013 in the Manchester area. From October 2013 we will begin to take new claims to universal credit from unemployed claimants across every region in Great Britain. This will build up from April 2014 as we phase out new claims to employment and support allowance, income support and housing benefit.