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, how much her Department has received from debt collection agencies in respect of civil penalties in each of the last 12 months.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 1st July 2019

The table below details the amount recovered from Debt Collection Agencies in respect of Civil Penalties in each of the last 12 months.*

Month

Recovery Value

Jun 2018

£6,900

Jul 2018

£5,500

Aug 2018

£6,900

Sep 2018

£5,200

Oct 2018

£4,600

Nov 2018

£6,400

Dec 2018

£4,600

Jan 2019

£3,000

Feb 2019

£4,700

Mar 2019

£5,800

Apr 2019

£3,500

May 2019

£3,800

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.

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