Number of universal credit mandatory reconsiderations carried out reduced by more than half over the last month

Written answer confirms that more than 16,000 reconsiderations were cleared in March 2020, but less than 8,000 in April

The number of universal credit mandatory reconsiderations carried out by the DWP reduced by more than half between March and April 2020, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Justin Tomlinson has confirmed.

Responding to a written question in Parliament yesterday, Mr Tomlinson advised that while 16,270 mandatory reconsiderations for universal credit were cleared during March 2020, only 7,510 were cleared in April 2020.

NB - on 21 April 2020, the Minister for Welfare Delivery Will Quince announced that, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic - 

'10,000 members of staff from other parts of DWP are being redeployed to support work on new claims and we are urgently recruiting additional people to assist with the processing of claims.'

Mr Tomlinson's written answer is available from parliament.uk