Half of all Universal Credit claimants are seeing payments reduced by the DWP
Around 3.2 million Universal Credit claimants are losing large chunks of money every month due to payment deductions, according to analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data. This follows a large rise in the overpayment of benefits such as Carer's Allowance, which has left the department chasing over 130,000 British carers for nearly £250 million, with many facing large deductions to pay it back.
People on benefits can have their payments deducted for a wide variety of reasons even beyond the DWP, from owing rent to a private landlord to being behind on utility bills. Currently, half of all Universal Credit recipients are having their payments reduced to pay back debts, costing the average claimant £63 every month.
The data revealed that 730,000 households were paying back an advance from the DWP to cover the initial five-week wait for the first Universal Credit payment, while 910,000 households were paying back budgetary loans to meet emergency costs amid the last two years of the cost of living crisis. Sam Tims, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation, said: “The social security system should provide a safety net for us all. But low-income families are trapped in a vicious cycle of debt due to insufficient wages and state support and the relentless pursuit if debts that built up as a result.
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