Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit payments were subject to a deduction excluding sanctions in the latest month for which data is available.

For eligible claims to UC Full Service due a payment in September 2018, 53% (474,000 claims) had a deduction (including to repay advances, for fraud penalties, and for other deductions, but excluding deductions for sanctions).

The information for claims with deductions above 10% of their standard allowance is as follows:

a) 7% (60,000 claims) of all Universal Credit Full Service eligible claims had deductions at 40% of the Standard Allowance;

b) 13% (114,000 claims) of all Universal Credit Full Service eligible claims had deductions above 30% of the Standard Allowance;

c) 24% (213,000 claims) of all Universal Credit Full Service eligible claims had deductions above 20% of their Standard Allowance;

d) 39% (347,000 claims) of all Universal Credit Full Service eligible claims had deductions above 10% of their Standard Allowance.

Claim numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

NOTE: These claim figures may not match official statistics caseloads due to methodological differences.

At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced we will reduce the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance, from October 2019. Additionally, from October 2021, the recovery period for advances will increase from 12 to 16 months. This will help over 600,000 families to manage their debts at any one point when roll-out is complete, providing them with, on average, £295 extra a year as their debts are repaid over a longer period.