Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will lower the 40 per cent debt recovery level for people in receipt of universal credit that have children.

The Department recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. However, there are no current plans to lower the maximum deduction rate.

The Department always considers individual circumstances when applying debt repayment thresholds and seeks to recover debt without creating undue hardship. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a Social Fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken where it can be shown that it would have an impact on any dependent children. Any reduction will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.