To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June to Question 258971, what information her Department holds on the proportion of universal credit claimants who have successfully applied for a reduction in their deduction in the most recent period for which figures are available.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
18 June 2019
As at 13th June 2019 the proportion of Universal Credit claimants with a benefit overpayment, who have successfully applied for a reduction in the rate at which they are repaying that overpayment, was 9.2%.
The Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. If a claimant is struggling they can contact the Department’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant.
*The data provided in this response has been sourced from internal management information and was never intended for public release. It is not comparable to any other, similar data subsequently released by the Department.