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 claimants have had money deducted as a result of (a) council tax arrears, (b) rent arrears and (c) historical tax credit debt.
The latest available data is for eligible claims to Universal Credit Full Service that were eligible for payment in February 2019.
Of these claims:
- 2% (34,000 claims) had a deduction for council tax arrears
- 6% (83,000 claims) had a deduction for rent arrears
- 17% (255,000 claims) had a deduction for tax credit overpayments
Notes: