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1172107

registered interest
date	20/01/2020
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit claimants who have had a (a) waiver and (b) reduction in deductions to their monthly payments on the grounds of hardship in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	5464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <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> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/01/2020 16:30:45 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172109

registered interest
date	20/01/2020
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the value of universal credit deductions made to repay administrative errors in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	5466
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <p>As a Department, 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> </p><p>Section 105 of The Welfare Reform Act 2012 amended the Social Security Act 1992, such that for Universal Credit, New Style JSA and New Style ESA, any payment in excess of the entitlement is recoverable, regardless of how the overpayment of entitlement occurred. This policy was brought in to reflect the need for a better value for money welfare system and to reinforce the overarching aim that Universal Credit mirrors work.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018/19, working with local authorities, the Department recovered £1.1bn in overpayments. Of this, £19.3m related to Universal Credit overpayments arising as a result of Departmental errors.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/01/2020 16:38:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172110

registered interest
date	20/01/2020
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place in the Library the (a) code of practice and (b) decision-making process governing universal credit deductions.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	5467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.</p><p> </p><p>Deductions are made following the priority order, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department collects and analyses data on Universal Credit regularly, including on the rate of deductions. Alongside this, the Department is always building our understanding on the impact deductions can have on claimants, and has heard evidence from external organisations on this issue. We have to balance these impacts with the need for claimants to meet their obligations.</p><p> </p><p>The Code of Practice ‘What happens if you are overpaid Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance?’ was deposited in the Library 6 May 2014. Deposit reference ‘DEP2014-0790’ refers.</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/</a></p><p /><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/01/2020 16:48:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172111

registered interest
date	20/01/2020
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
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 universal credit deductions were made to repay over-payments made in error in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	5468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/01/2020 17:56:24 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens