Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether individuals moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit with tax credit debt will have deductions taken from their Universal Credit award commencing on the first Assessment Period.

Once transferred to DWP for recovery, Tax Credit debt is recovered in the same way as overpaid DWP benefits. Where the customer is in receipt of Universal Credit, deductions are taken from the next available assessment period. Customers are advised of the rate of deduction through a notification posted in their journal.

DWP has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage their debt. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and encourage anyone who cannot afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact us.