Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress the Government has made in developing ways to record the (a) nationality and (b) immigration status of benefit claimants.
Mr Hoban: We check nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not currently recorded as part of the payment administrative systems.
As we progressively roll out universal credit we will be recording nationality and immigration status as part of the process.