Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent under the Eligible Loan Deduction Scheme in each year since its introduction.
Deductions can only be made where all benefit rules are satisfied, including affordability/hardship considerations. If deductions are appropriate, any recoveries are paid to the lender on a monthly basis. There are no backlogs for agreed deductions.
DWP has administered deductions of this type since 2006. However, administration costs are only available from 2015/16 onwards. These costs can be found in the table below.
Year | Administrative costs for ELDS |
2015/16 | £403,000 |
2016/17 | £555,000 |
2017/18 | £539,000 |
2018/19 | £546,000 |