Working on UC
Letter template

Asking your MP for help

MPs' offices can raise a constituent's case directly with DWP. Use this when you're stuck: no reply, repeated delays, or a mistake nobody will fix.

Last checked November 2026.

Find your MP and their contact details on the UK Parliament website. Most MPs prefer email. Include your full address, because they can only help people in their own constituency.

Letter to your MP
Dear [MP's name],

I live in your constituency at [your full address, including postcode], and I'm asking for your help with my Universal Credit claim.

Summary
[One or two sentences. For example: DWP has not deducted my personal pension payments from my earnings for the last [number] assessment periods, even though I have reported them with evidence. As a result I have been underpaid by about £[amount].]

What happened
[List the key events with dates. For example:
- [date]: paid £[amount] into my pension and reported it in my journal with evidence.
- [date]: my Universal Credit statement did not reflect the payment.
- [date]: asked for a mandatory reconsideration.
- [date]: [what happened next, or that I have had no reply].]

What I've already done
[Journal messages, phone calls, reconsideration requests, complaints, with dates.]

What I'd like you to do
Please raise my case with the Department for Work and Pensions and ask them to [for example: review my mandatory reconsideration, correct my award for the assessment periods above, and pay any arrears].

Consent
I give permission for you and your staff to contact DWP about my claim and to share my details with them for this purpose.

My details
Name: [your full name]
Date of birth: [your date of birth]
National Insurance number: [your NI number]
Phone: [your phone number]
Email: [your email address]

Thank you for your help.

[Your name]

If it's about pension payments

You can ask your MP to put specific questions to DWP. For example, ask DWP:

  • to confirm that payments you make from your bank account into a registered personal pension are deducted from your earnings for the assessment period you make them in;
  • how you should give evidence each month, and how quickly your earnings will be amended;
  • when any money you're owed for past assessment periods will be paid.

Tips

  • Keep it to one page if you can. Caseworkers read a lot of letters, and a clear timeline gets action faster.
  • Attach key documents, such as your Universal Credit statements, journal screenshots and any reconsideration notice.
  • Don't put your National Insurance number in the email subject line.
  • Carry on with the formal steps. Contacting your MP doesn't pause the one-month deadlines for reconsideration and appeal.

For the full process, see what to do when DWP gets it wrong.