Found: Note that the government does not routinely release information on Universal Credit deductions; we are

Found: whether the Department has considered raising child maintenance payments higher in the priority order of Universal

Found: the Department has considered raising child maintenance payments higher in the priority order of Universal

Found: and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+). 6 House of Commons Library Debate Pack (2023) Universal

Found: However, various studies have found that Universal Credit deductions push people further into poverty

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims were subject to deductions in each local authority area in the 2022-23 financial year; what the (a) average and (b) total amount deducted was; and what proportion of deductions were used to repay advance payments.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with deductions, in the 2022-23 financial year, by Local Authority in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet, with the following points to note:

1. Average deduction amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1 and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. The sum of individual constituencies may not sum to the total figure due to rounding.

2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

3. The' unknown' parliamentary constituency label relates to claims for which a constituency could not be determined due to incomplete postcode information. Unknown parliamentary constituency accounts for 0.4% of all UC households.

4. "Advances" include all four UC advance types: New Claim, Benefit Transfer, Budgeting and Change of Circumstances.

5. The table includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period 2022-2023. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once. Deduction amount represents the total deduction taken for a particular household. Where a household has multiple deductions in the same assessment period these figures provide the total of all deductions taken.

6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children were living in households (a) in receipt of Universal Credit and (b) subject to deductions in each parliamentary constituency in the most recent month for which data is available; what the (i) total and (ii) average sum of Universal Credit deductions was for households with children in each constituency; and what proportion of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is provided in the separate spreadsheet and are subject to the following caveats:

1. For low level geography: volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100, total amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1,000 and average amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1. For totals at GB level: volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, total amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1,000,000 and average amount has been rounded to the nearest £1. Proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.

2. The sum of individual low level geographies may not sum to the total figure due to rounding.

3. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

4. Children are defined here as being people who are declared as living in the same household as the UC claimant(s) and who are under the age of 20. The number of children may not be equal to the number of dependent children in the household who are eligible for child element for various reasons. This includes children over the age of 16 in non-advanced full-time education, looked-after children and, other young people living in multigenerational households whose parents are not the claimant. Those affected by the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children may also have a larger number of children compared to the number of children entitled to the child element in their household.

5. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

6. The ‘unknown' parliamentary constituency equates to 0.4% of all households and relates to households for which a constituency could not be determined due to incomplete postcode information.

7. Data for August 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

8. Claim numbers and numbers of children on UC will not match official statistics caseloads due to methodological differences.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims were subject to deductions; how much on average was deducted; what the total sum of deductions was; what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments in each local authority in the 2021-22 financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with deductions, in the 2021-22 financial year, by Local Authority in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet, with the following points to note:

1. Average deduction amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1 and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. The sum of individual constituencies may not sum to the total figure due to rounding.

2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

3. The' unknown' parliamentary constituency label relates to claims for which a constituency could not be determined due to incomplete postcode information. Unknown parliamentary constituency accounts for 0.2% of all UC households.

4. In April 2021, the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 30% of the standard allowance to 25%. In May 2021, the additional court fines deduction was removed lowering the rate to 5% of standard allowance.

5. "Advances" include all four UC advance types: New Claim, Benefit Transfer, Budgeting and Change of Circumstances.

6. The table includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period 2021-2022. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once. Deduction amount represents the total deduction taken for a particular household. So if a household has multiple deductions in the same assessment period these figures provide the total of all deductions taken.

7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

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Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in receipt of Universal Credit faced a (a) lowest, (b) low, (c) medium and (d) highest level sanction concurrently with deductions to their Standard Allowance of (i) up to five per cent, (ii) between six and 10 per cent, (iii) between 11 and 15 per cent, (iv) between 16 and 20 per cent, (v) between 21 and 25 per cent and (vi) more than 25 per cent in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Claimants must meet certain requirements to receive their UC payment. These will be based on individual and household information and will take account of health, earnings, caring responsibilities, alongside any ongoing work or volunteering. All requirements are set in discussion with the claimant and tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the repayment period for Advance Payments to 36 months as a means of reducing the monthly rate of deductions from Universal Credit.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No assessment has been made.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) oral and (b) written communication with Universal Credit claimants at explaining how to request a lower rate of deductions from Universal Credit.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are regularly reviewing and improving the UC service and have recently updated our overpayment notifications to more clearly explain how to get in touch if deductions are too much.

In addition, there are standing messages available in the Universal Credit journal which can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, claimants can seek support from staff in their local job centre or by contacting the Universal Credit helpline.

DWP Debt Management have an established process whereby trained agents are available to discuss repayment rates and, in most cases, negotiate reduced repayment rates with anyone struggling to repay.

The department is also committed to HM Treasury’s 'Breathing Space' policy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data is available per constituency; what was the (a) average and (b) total sum of deduction per constituency; what proportion of deductions were used to repay advance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact the DWP Debt Management Team if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.

Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.

Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit, and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in May 2023 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.

Data for May 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to mitigate the financial impact of Universal Credit deductions on (a) families with children and (b) other recipients.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The amount that can be deducted is capped and we have lowered the standard cap on deductions from Universal Credit twice over recent years, firstly from 40% to 30% in October 2019 and then to 25% in April 2021.

DWP takes every care to recover benefit debt without causing undue financial hardship.

Deductions are made under legislation and cover a broad range of contingencies, like the recovery of fines to prevent incarceration, the payment of rent arrears to prevent homelessness, child maintenance liabilities to their children, and provision for one-off items of expenditure through advances and the repayment of debts.

DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their deductions and encourages customers to contact DWP to discuss any concerns.

The department has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage repayment of debt. Our agents will always look to negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment plans. For overpayment deductions specifically, where a person feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of deduction for an overpayment recovery, they are encouraged to contact the department’s Debt Management to discuss a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment or cessation of the deduction.

There is no minimum amount that a customer has to pay, and we have recently extended the time period for any reduced payment to remain in place.

Customers who do contact Debt Management are routinely referred to the Money Advisor Network, who work in partnership with DWP, to offer free independent and impartial money and debt advice. We also remain committed to His Majesty’s Treasury’s Breathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what prior warning individuals moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit are given about deductions from their first Universal Credit payment about tax credit debt.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

HMRC notifies the customer of the amount of debt being transferred and explains that DWP will recover by deduction from Universal Credit. Once transferred to DWP for recovery, any 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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what information individuals moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit are given about their right to request write-off and waivers of outstanding debt.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Whilst customers are not automatically informed of their option to seek a waiver, 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, or that does not consider recovery appropriate given their particular circumstances, to contact the Department.

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.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his Department’s policy to remove sanctions from Universal Credit claimants who were wrongly awarded a benefit due to an administration error.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The DWP has taken significant steps to ensure the accuracy of benefit payments and the vast majority of benefit expenditure is paid correctly.

The question is difficult to answer without the specifics of any individual case but the broad policy is as follows:

Where overpayments do occur, Section 105 of The Welfare Reform Act 2012, amending the Social Security Act 1992 (Section 71ZB), states that any overpayment of Universal Credit, new style JSA or ESA in excess of entitlement, is recoverable.

If the claim is subsequently found to be invalid due to administrative error, then the entirety of the claim is removed, and any sanction imposed would be removed.

A sanction can only be applied if entitlement to benefit has been established and if the claimant has failed to meet their agreed requirements or failed to take up or stay in employment without good reason.