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1668847

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Refugees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision his Department makes for Winter Fuel Payments in cases where Ukrainian refugees receiving Universal Credit payments are not paying bills in the homes of their host families.
	tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
	tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
	uin	1005
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Winter fuel payments are an age-related payment payable this winter to all people who have reached State Pension age on or before 24 September <del class="ministerial">1957</del> <ins class="ministerial">2023</ins> and who are ordinarily resident in the UK, including Ukrainian refugees. There is no need to be in receipt of a social security benefit in order to qualify.</p><p> </p><p>Winter fuel payments are made on a household basis. If there is more than one eligible person in a household, the payment will be divided between them. The sharing of bills is a matter for the house owner and any guests they may be hosting.</p><p> </p><p>The Government understands the cost-of-living pressures people are currently facing which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their bills.</p><p> </p><p>Pensioners who are entitled to a winter fuel payment this winter will receive a pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 per household paid with their normal payment, meaning over 8 million pensioner households across the UK will receive an increased winter fuel payment of £500/£600 depending on age.</p><p> </p><p>Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year and over 6 million individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will have received a £150 payment to help with the additional costs they face.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 14/11/2023 15:47:31 question first ministerially corrected 22/11/2023 16:28:29 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard previous answer version 527 answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

1648861

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of households in the private rented sector in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment; how many and what proportion of those households have rents that exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median average gap is between the rent and the LHA for those households where rent exceeds the LHA for each local authority area in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales for the most recent period for which data are available.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	191728
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. Data on local LHA rates and averages can be found in the attachments provided.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates. These rates were aligned to the 30th percentile of market rents in Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) across the country, therefore in those areas with higher rent costs this is reflected in higher LHA rates for that BRMA. In 2022/23, the Government is projected to spend around £30 billion to support renters. This is approximately 1.4% of GDP, more than any other OECD country, with the next highest being 0.9% of GDP.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the legislation increasing LHA rates to 30<sup>th</sup> percentile in April 2020 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/371/regulation/4" target="_blank">here.</a> Information on the legislation maintaining LHA rates at their current rates for 2023/24 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/6/contents/made" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment 2 file name Attachment 2.xlsx title Attachment 2 question first answered 17/07/2023 16:04:45 question first ministerially corrected 21/07/2023 13:52:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 88042 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1648862

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of those households in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment had rents that exceeded the local housing allowance (LHA) in (a) March 2020, (b) March 2021, (c) March 2022 and (d) March 2023; and what the median average gap is between the rent and the LHA for those households where rent exceeds the LHA in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	191729
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. Data on local LHA rates and averages can be found in the attachments provided.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates. These rates were aligned to the 30th percentile of market rents in Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) across the country, therefore in those areas with higher rent costs this is reflected in higher LHA rates for that BRMA. In 2022/23, the Government is projected to spend around £30 billion to support renters. This is approximately 1.4% of GDP, more than any other OECD country, with the next highest being 0.9% of GDP.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the legislation increasing LHA rates to 30<sup>th</sup> percentile in April 2020 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/371/regulation/4" target="_blank">here.</a> Information on the legislation maintaining LHA rates at their current rates for 2023/24 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/6/contents/made" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment 2 file name Attachment 2.xlsx title Attachment 2 question first answered 17/07/2023 16:04:45 question first ministerially corrected 21/07/2023 13:52:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 88046 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1646807

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Automation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish details on the sixty-five scaled and transitioned automations created by the Intelligence Automation Garage.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	190878
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Housing Benefit regulations has powers which allow local authorities to make payments of Housing Benefit direct to the landlord if it appears to be in the interest of the claimant and their family. Serious rent arrears, for example arrears equivalent of six weeks’ rent, may indicate it is in the claimant’s best interests to arrange direct payment.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">When deciding whether to make direct payments local authorities must consider the individual circumstances of each case.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">There are currently no plans to review this policy.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Since its inception in 2018, the Intelligent Automation Garage (IAG) has delivered 65 automations. This has enabled DWP to save money and operational hours as well as increasing accuracy through transforming DWP services, making processes easier for users to deliver better outcomes for our citizens. It has a culture of pioneering new and innovative technologies to reduce the reputational risk and citizen impact across our systems.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The IAG works predominantly in large scale processing supporting customer facing colleagues in quickly reducing backlogs with improved accuracy and compliance. It does this across a range of benefit lines including: Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseekers Allowance, Social fund, Carers Allowance and Pension credit.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Automations to date include: Bundle Builder, Letters of Entitlement, Think Secure Chatbot, Budgeting Loans, Employment and Support Allowance Fit Notes, Faster Payments and Department for Communities in Northern Ireland mail scanning. Other supported functionalities include: sending SMS text messages to citizens, generating letters to notify citizens about a change in benefit status and processing benefit payments.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/06/2023 16:24:17 question first ministerially corrected 29/06/2023 11:31:23 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 84494 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1641893

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Pension Credit: Windrush Generation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued on backdating pension credit for those who have received a naturalisation certificate through the Windrush Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	187664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2023 answer text <p>Claims from customers identified as being part of the Windrush scheme are referred to a specialist team for action, who will consider and apply all agreed easements in Policy regarding the usual <del class="ministerial">13-month</del> <ins class="ministerial"><strong>3 month </strong></ins>time limit for backdating.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 08/06/2023 11:34:32 question first ministerially corrected 26/06/2023 08:25:41 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott previous answer version 79606 answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1607116

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Means-tested Benefits: Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of families receiving income-related benefits that used food banks in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that estimate.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	173022
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2023 answer text <p>National statistics on food bank use for 2021/22 are available<del class="ministerial"> here.</del> <ins class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2020-to-2021" target="_blank">here.</a></ins> We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics show that in 2021/22 11% of households in receipt of any income-related benefits had used a food bank in the 12 months prior to the survey.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/03/2023 11:01:32 question first ministerially corrected 29/03/2023 13:12:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 65957 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1600503

	registered interest
	date	01/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were receiving the (a) support element of Employment Support Allowance and (b) limited capability for work-related activity element of Universal Credit, but were not receiving the (i) Personal Independent Payment and (ii) Disability Living Allowance in the latest 12 months for which data are available.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
	tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
	uin	156196
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2023 answer text <p>On 31<sup>st</sup> August 2022, <del class="ministerial">373,000</del> <ins class="ministerial">259,000</ins> people in Great Britain were receiving the Support Group award of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) without receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). <ins class="ministerial">373,000</ins> <del class="ministerial">259,000</del> people were receiving the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity Element (LCWRA) of Universal Credit (UC) without receiving PIP or DLA. The below table shows the figures for the end of the four most recent quarters.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"><p> </p></td><td colspan="5"><p>Month end</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-21</p></td><td><p>Feb-22</p></td><td><p>May-22</p></td><td><p>Aug-22</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><p>People receiving ESA/UC without PIP/DLA</p></td><td><p>ESA Support Group</p></td><td><p>292,000</p></td><td><p>281,000</p></td><td><p>270,000</p></td><td><p>259,000</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC LCWRA</p></td><td><p>307,000</p></td><td><p>327,000</p></td><td><p>350,000</p></td><td><p>373,000</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Sources: </strong>Benefit Combinations, Universal Credit Full Service, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><ul><li>This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and may be subject to future revision;</li><li>Data covers Great Britain only;</li><li>The volumes above may include claimants that are subsequently given a PIP award that covers the reference date;</li><li>The volumes may also include Scottish claimants that are claiming Scottish disability benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) instead of PIP or DLA; and</li><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.</li></ul> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 09/03/2023 11:22:10 question first ministerially corrected 04/04/2023 11:15:31 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 60740 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1585955

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many overpayments of Universal Credit have been attributed to Official Error in each of the last three years; and what the total value of those overpayments.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	143682
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt, because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 11:43:36 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:50 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56681 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1585957

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of overpayments within Universal Credit attributed to Official Error recovered In each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	143683
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt (in this way) because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan. </ins></p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 12:10:37 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:40 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56691 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1585958

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases where the claimant had previously been advised no overpayment had occurred a Universal Credit overpayment attributed to Official Error has been identified in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	143684
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt (in this way) because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan.  </ins></p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 12:10:37 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:29 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56694 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck