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<p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants
who have incurred debt. Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when
applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>Universal
Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive
deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the
Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to
30 per cent.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of
the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent
arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. Similarly, if a claimant
is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration
of the amount that is being taken. Reductions are always based on the individual circumstances
of the claimant, rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure
that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.</p><p> </p><p>The
claimant should provide reasonable evidence to support their request. This could include
information about the household income and expenditure where hardship is claimed on
financial grounds. Where hardship is claimed because either the claimant or a member
of their family is seriously ill, they would need to provide supporting evidence to
explain how or why recovery would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the claimant
or their family.</p><p> </p><p>A Repayment Negotiation Framework based on the individual
circumstances of the customer, rather than the size of the debt and repayment period
has been developed. This makes the process much simpler, and ensures both on and off
benefit customers are treated fairly. This framework is contained within the Benefit
Overpayment Recovery Guide which can be found on Gov.uk via the link below. The Repayment
Negotiation Framework can be found on page 38, paragraph 5.68.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p><p><strong>
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