PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Universal Credit (9 November 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 68249 on Universal Credit, what proportion of the £67.8 million deducted from universal credit claims as a result of Government debt in May 2021 was as a consequence of (a) non-fraud Tax Credit Overpayment, (b) non-fraud DWP Benefit Overpayment and (c) non-fraud Housing Benefit Overpayment.

Asked by:
Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)

For Universal Credit claims with a payment due during May 2021, £67,800,000 was deducted to repay Government debt, of which:

(a) 56% (£37,700,000 ) for Tax Credit Overpayment (non-fraud)

(b) 30% (£20,500,000) for DWP Benefit Overpayment (non-fraud)

(c) 5% (3,500,000) for Housing Benefit Overpayment (non-fraud)

As a Department, we carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments, with our support for claimants. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and in April we further reduced the cap on deductions from Universal Credit awards.

Customers can contact DWP if they are experiencing financial hardship in order to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.

Fraud and error in the benefit system is rare, with 95% of benefits worth more than £200bn paid correctly and just 0.4% of benefits being overpaid due to DWP error.

Notes

1) Figures are provisional and subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

2) Amount deducted rounded to the nearest 100,000 and percentage rounded to the nearest percent.

3) Government debt includes: DWP Benefit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Tax Credit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Housing Benefit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Social Fund Loan, Recoverable Hardship Payment, Administrative Penalty, Civil Penalty, Eligible Loan Deductions, Integration Loan.

Answered by:
David Rutley (Conservative)
18 November 2021