To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long claimants moved on to managed payments as a result of eight weeks' arrears will remain on that scheme before returning to direct payments; and if he will make a statement.

One of the failings of the current system is that decisions to move claimants to managed payments of rent are not systematically reviewed. Under universal credit we will return claimants to direct payment of rent once we are satisfied that they are in a position to manage their affairs. We expect that managed payments will remain in place at least until the outstanding arrears have been recovered. How long managed payments remain in place beyond that will depend upon individual circumstance but we expect most claimants would not be switched back to direct payments for a further six months.