Universal Credit
(asked on 11th February 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have had their payments reduced as a result of deductions for court fines in each of the last five years.
We are unable to provide figures for court fine deductions over the last five years as improvements to third party data reporting commenced in November 2018. Information which is available can be found in the table below.
The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. It maintains our policy to enforce social obligations such as the payment of court fines, ensure Government debt is recovered and vitally to safeguard claimants from the potential impacts of not repaying priority debts, such as homelessness or loss of utilities. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. The Budget 2020 also set out that the maximum level will be further reduced, so that standard deductions will not exceed 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance from October 2021.
Payment Month | Number of claimants with deduction for court fines | % of claimants with deductions for court fines | Number of claimants with the maximum deduction for court fines (£108.35) | Percentage of those with deductions for court fines who have the maximum deduction (£108.35) |
November 2018 | 7,000 | 0.62% | Less than 500 | 6% |
December 2018 | 7,000 | 0.59% | Less than 500 | 6% |
January 2019 | 8,000 | 0.56% | Less than 500 | 5% |
February 2019 | 8,000 | 0.56% | Less than 500 | 5% |
March 2019 | 13,000 | 0.84% | 1,000 | 5% |
April 2019 | 37,000 | 2.23% | 2,000 | 7% |
May 2019 | 61,000 | 3.49% | 4,000 | 7% |
June 2019 | 83,000 | 4.51% | 5,000 | 7% |
July 2019 | 102,000 | 5.28% | 7,000 | 7% |
August 2019 | 112,000 | 5.57% | 9,000 | 8% |
September 2019 | 117,000 | 5.59% | 13,000 | 11% |
October 2019 | 114,000 | 5.22% | 9,000 | 8% |
November 2019 | 109,000 | 4.82% | 2,000 | 2% |
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 1,000
2. The increase in the proportion of claimants with deductions for fines is due to an improved manual process phased in between February and the end of March for courts to send through their court deductions.
3. Figures are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available
4. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.
5. Court fines are first taken at a 5% fixed rate, then again at the end of the priority order up to the maximum deductions limit, up to a maximum deduction of £108.35. Figures show the number of people having court fine deductions at £108.35 per month.
6. The decrease in proportion of claimants with deductions for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance.
7. The decrease in proportion of claimants with the maximum deduction for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance