Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2020 to Question 10759, what the value of deductions to universal credit payments has been, by parliamentary constituency; and from how many claimants those deductions were taken, in each of the 12 months prior to August 2019.

This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are set at a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance, down from 40% previously.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.