Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefits claimants have had third-party deductions taken directly from their benefits payments in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Third Party Deductions information is only available from 2018.
Table 1 provides the volume of households subject to at least one Third Party Deduction for each financial year from April 2018 to February 2023. The latest figures show that between April 2022 and February 2023 there were 912,200 households on Universal Credit that had at least one Third Party Deduction.
Table 1: Number of Universal Credit households in Great Britain with at least one Third Party Deduction for the time periods shown | |
Date | Number of households |
Apr-18 to Mar-19 | 179,500 |
Apr-19 to Mar-20 | 594,000 |
Apr-20 to Mar-21 | 823,100 |
Apr-21 to Mar-22 | 917,900 |
Apr-22 to Feb-23 | 912,200 |
Notes:
1. The number of households have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Household level figures have been provided. Please note that some households will have more than one Third Party Deduction within the time period provided. The volumes capture households that have at least one deduction in that time period.
3. Third Party Deductions contains debt types such as rent arrears, court fines and child maintenance (Last Resort Deductions and Enforcing Social Obligations Deductions).
4. Complete data for Third Party Debts is only available from 2018.
5. Data up to February 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.
6. The data for 2018/19 only provides data for Universal Credit full-service claims. Data on Universal Credit live service for 2018/19 is not available. In May 2016 the Universal Credit full service for all claimant types began to rollout nationally and was completed by the end of 2018.
7. Comparison across the different financial years is problematic due to changes in the deductions policy for Universal Credit, which would have affected the number of households having a Third-Party Deduction.
8. Figures have been provided for Universal Credit households in Great Britain. Northern Ireland claims are administered by the Department for Communities.
9. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
10. The methodology used is different to those used to derive the Official Statistics Household series and therefore, figures may not be comparable.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the decision to reduce the maximum rate of deductions from 30 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance to 25 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The reduction in the maximum rate of UC deduction for debt repayments from 30% to 25% has negligible costs which are in the region of £10m in the period April 2021 to April 2025. Given DWP’s ability to continually collect debt from working age benefits and pensions the nature of DWP debt write-offs only results from customers who die with no-estate.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the total value of third-party Universal Credit deductions for (a) court fines, b) Council Tax arrears, c) water charges arrears, (d) gas or electricity charges arrears, (e) mortgage interest arrears and (f) owner-occupier service charge arrears in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on applications for Universal Credit deductions is not held.
Data for deductions approved is provided in the table below.
Table 1: Number and total amount of third-party debts registered against Universal Credit households between March 2022 and February 2023
| Mar-22 to Feb-23 | |
| Number of Debts registered | Total Amount of Debt Registered |
Council Tax | 161,900 | £80,090,000 |
Electricity Arrears | 1,800 | £2,680,000 |
Fines | 253,100 | £198,770,000 |
Gas Arrears | 1,400 | £1,520,000 |
Mortgage Interest | 10 | £10,000 |
Owner Occupied Service Charges | 60 | £110,000 |
Water Arrears | 46,000 | £55,620,000 |
Total | 464,300 | £338,800,000 |
Notes:
1. The number of debts has been rounded to the nearest hundred, except for Mortgage Interest and Owner Occupier Service charges, which have been rounded to the nearest 10 due to low numbers. Total debt amounts have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
2. The registration date for debts is defined as the date the Third Party debt was created.
3. Ongoing consumption deductions for gas, water and electricity are excluded from the total amount of debt. These don’t have a debt amount as they are deductions to pay for ongoing monthly usage. They should only be applied to claims with existing energy / water arrears so households with both arrears and ongoing consumption deductions will be counted in the number of debts registered in the water and energy debt categories.
4. Data for the twelve month period ending February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.
5. Some households may have had more than one debt registered against their Universal Credit claim, so may appear more than once in these statistics.
6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for third-party Universal Credit deductions were approved for (a) court fines, (b) Council Tax arrears, (c) water arrears, (d) gas and electricity arrears, (e) mortgage interest arrears and (f) owner-occupier service charge arrears in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on applications for Universal Credit deductions is not held.
Data for deductions approved is provided in the table below.
Table 1: Number and total amount of third-party debts registered against Universal Credit households between March 2022 and February 2023
| Mar-22 to Feb-23 | |
| Number of Debts registered | Total Amount of Debt Registered |
Council Tax | 161,900 | £80,090,000 |
Electricity Arrears | 1,800 | £2,680,000 |
Fines | 253,100 | £198,770,000 |
Gas Arrears | 1,400 | £1,520,000 |
Mortgage Interest | 10 | £10,000 |
Owner Occupied Service Charges | 60 | £110,000 |
Water Arrears | 46,000 | £55,620,000 |
Total | 464,300 | £338,800,000 |
Notes:
1. The number of debts has been rounded to the nearest hundred, except for Mortgage Interest and Owner Occupier Service charges, which have been rounded to the nearest 10 due to low numbers. Total debt amounts have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
2. The registration date for debts is defined as the date the Third Party debt was created.
3. Ongoing consumption deductions for gas, water and electricity are excluded from the total amount of debt. These don’t have a debt amount as they are deductions to pay for ongoing monthly usage. They should only be applied to claims with existing energy / water arrears so households with both arrears and ongoing consumption deductions will be counted in the number of debts registered in the water and energy debt categories.
4. Data for the twelve month period ending February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.
5. Some households may have had more than one debt registered against their Universal Credit claim, so may appear more than once in these statistics.
6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for third-party deductions from Universal Credit were (a) received and (b) approved in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on applications for Universal Credit deductions is not held.
Data for deductions approved is provided in the table below.
Table 1: Number and total amount of third-party debts registered against Universal Credit households between March 2022 and February 2023
| Mar-22 to Feb-23 | |
| Number of Debts registered | Total Amount of Debt Registered |
Council Tax | 161,900 | £80,090,000 |
Electricity Arrears | 1,800 | £2,680,000 |
Fines | 253,100 | £198,770,000 |
Gas Arrears | 1,400 | £1,520,000 |
Mortgage Interest | 10 | £10,000 |
Owner Occupied Service Charges | 60 | £110,000 |
Water Arrears | 46,000 | £55,620,000 |
Total | 464,300 | £338,800,000 |
Notes:
1. The number of debts has been rounded to the nearest hundred, except for Mortgage Interest and Owner Occupier Service charges, which have been rounded to the nearest 10 due to low numbers. Total debt amounts have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
2. The registration date for debts is defined as the date the Third Party debt was created.
3. Ongoing consumption deductions for gas, water and electricity are excluded from the total amount of debt. These don’t have a debt amount as they are deductions to pay for ongoing monthly usage. They should only be applied to claims with existing energy / water arrears so households with both arrears and ongoing consumption deductions will be counted in the number of debts registered in the water and energy debt categories.
4. Data for the twelve month period ending February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.
5. Some households may have had more than one debt registered against their Universal Credit claim, so may appear more than once in these statistics.
6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
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, broken down by parliamentary constituency; how much was the (a) total and (b) average sum of deductions in each constituency; and what proportion of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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 November 2022 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the (a) average amount per household and (b) total aggregated amount taken from Universal Credit payments amongst households subject to a deduction in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The primary aim of the Universal Credit deductions policy is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. In recent years, the standard UC deduction cap has been reduced twice – from 40% to 30% of the Standard Allowance in October 2019, and down to 25% in April 2021.
The requested information is provided in the separate spreadsheet.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
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 claiming Universal Credit that had a deduction in each of the last 12 months for which data are available.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The primary aim of the Universal Credit deductions policy is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. In recent years, the standard UC deduction cap has been reduced twice – from 40% to 30% of the Standard Allowance in October 2019, and down to 25% in April 2021.
The requested information is provided in the separate spreadsheet.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households claiming Universal Credit had a deduction in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The primary aim of the Universal Credit deductions policy is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. In recent years, the standard UC deduction cap has been reduced twice – from 40% to 30% of the Standard Allowance in October 2019, and down to 25% in April 2021.
The requested information is provided in the separate spreadsheet.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the ten largest monthly deductions taken from Universal Credit payments were in the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Tables 1 & 2, in the attached spreadsheet, provide figures for the average monthly third-party deduction and the average monthly council tax deduction for the period December-21 to November-22.
Data for the ten largest monthly deductions taken from Universal Credit payments is not readily available and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.