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<p>The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly
and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing
Public Money. Waiver applications have to be considered in line with this guidance.
Debts can only be waived if recovery is causing substantial medical and/or financial
hardship to a claimant or their immediate family.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019/20 (up to
31<sup>st</sup> December 2019), there were 10 Universal Credit claimants who had their
debts waived.</p><p> </p><p>We understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing
of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed
in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances. Where a person
says they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, a reduction in their rate of
repayment may be agreed.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In 2019/20 (up to 31<sup>st</sup>
December 2019), 159,000 Universal Credit claimants had the rate at which they were
repaying a benefit overpayment reduced.</p><p> </p><p><em>*The figures provided in
this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not
intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any other similar
figures subsequently released by the Department. The figure relating to the number
of debts waived has been rounded to the nearest 10, and the figure relating to reductions
in repayment rates has been rounded to the nearest 1,000. It is important to note
that debts waived may not all relate to Universal Credit.</em></p>
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