Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including debts which can be deducted directly from universal credit in the statutory Breathing Space scheme.

The Government published a consultation on a single policy proposal for the breathing space scheme in October 2018. The consultation proposed that the widest range of an individual’s personal debts as possible would be included in the scheme.

The consultation closed on 29 January and the Government intends to confirm its approach to these aspects of the scheme in its response.