CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

DWP – UNIVERSAL CREDIT - 25 November 2014

DWP – UNIVERSAL CREDIT - 25 November 2014

Dr Julian Lewis: Many people are concerned about both welfare tourism and benefit fraud. Will my right hon. Friend explain how they might be diminished as a result of the new system?

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith): On migrants, we have already made it clear that universal credit is a different type of benefit, so people who come here and are out of work will not be able to claim it as a benefit. The issue of how migrant workers can claim in-work support will be negotiated. We are clear that, under universal credit, family benefits will not be paid to people who are not accompanied by their family, so we will secure such claims, thus cutting costs. On fraud, the automatic processes that check what people are earning and whether they are in work mean that we will cut down on all the fraud related to tax credits.]