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<p>A £50 Civil Penalty may be imposed by both Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
and Local Authorities where an individual incurs a recoverable overpayment as a result
of failing to provide accurate information as part of their benefit claim or in connection
with an award of benefit, and has not taken reasonable steps to correct the error.</p><p>
</p><p>The table below shows the volume of Civil Penalties applied in the 12 months
from July 2018 to June 2019*.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Civil
Penalties Applied</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-18</p></td><td><p>6,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-18</p></td><td><p>7,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-18</p></td><td><p>6,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-18</p></td><td><p>8,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-18</p></td><td><p>8,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-18</p></td><td><p>7,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-19</p></td><td><p>10,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-19</p></td><td><p>10,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>9,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-19</p></td><td><p>8,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-19</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-19</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>99,600</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>If a claimant is having difficult repaying a benefit
overpayment or Civil Penalty, they can request a review of the amount that is being
taken. Any adjustment in the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances
of the debtor.</p><p> </p><p>When recovering benefit overpayments, the DWP ensures
that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants from any undue financial
hardship.</p><p> </p><p><em>*The data provided in this response has been sourced from
internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should
therefore not be compared to any other, similar data subsequently released by the
Department. All figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.</em></p>
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