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<p>Advances are designed to ensure that the most vulnerable claimants receive the
money they need to live on during their transition to Universal Credit (UC).</p><p>It
is important to make clear that the vast majority of claims to UC Advances are legitimate.</p><p>As
at the end of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1
per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p><p>The Department takes this issue very
seriously and will investigate all claims where fraud may have been committed. Indeed,
we have set up a dedicated team to investigate this specific type of fraud.</p><p>
</p><p>We are also committed to the use of penalties such as prosecutions and tough
financial penalties to discourage this fraudulent behaviour.</p>
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