Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will implement with immediate effect the policy announced in the Budget 2020 on lowering the repayment rate and extending the repayment period for universal credit advances, which is currently not due to take effect until October 2021.

The Government has already taken action to mitigate the impact of repaying advances. In the short-term, the temporary increase to the Standard Allowance of over £80 a month will immediately help absorb the impact of repaying advances. In October 2019, the level of standard deductions was reduced from 40% to 30% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. In addition, the repayment period for advances has already been extended from 6 months to 12 months, and claimants can ask to defer advance repayments for up to 3 months in certain circumstances.