Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 243330 on Universal Credit, what proportion of universal credit claimants are unable to pay back the benefit advances they have taken within 12 months of their receipt in each year for which information is available.

33% of UC advances which were paid before 5th May 2018, have not been fully repaid as at 5th May 2019.

Advances are not loans; they are an interest free payment benefit advance, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that the recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2021 we are increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need.

Queries against the current repayment stock are only ever a snap shot in time and therefore the position at the end of each financial year cannot be recreated.