Debt Collection
(asked on 25th June 2019) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total monetary amount is of civil penalties which have been passed to debt collection agencies by her Department in each of the last 12 months.
The table below details the total monetary amount of Civil Penalties which have been passed to Debt Collection Agencies in each of the last 12 months.*
Month | Total Monthly Amount |
Jun-18 | £32,800 |
Jul-18 | £42,500 |
Aug-18 | £38,500 |
Sep-18 | £28,000 |
Oct-18 | £26,700 |
Nov-18 | £35,500 |
Dec-18 | £25,200 |
Jan-19 | £43,500 |
Feb-19 | £26,400 |
Mar-19 | £26,900 |
Apr-19 | £35,400 |
May-19 | £31,200 |
Grand Total | £392,600 |
A £50 Civil Penalty may be imposed by both Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Local Authorities where an individual incurs a recoverable overpayment as a result of failing to provide accurate information as part of their benefit claim or in connection with an award of benefit, and has not taken reasonable steps to correct the error.
When recovering overpayments, DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants from any undue financial hardship. Like the Department, private collection agencies will look to establish sustainable repayment arrangements.
*The data provided in this response has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other, similar data subsequently released by the Department. All figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.