Universal Credit: Overpayments

(asked on 11th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit overpayments her Department has made in the Vale of Clwyd in each of the last five years, and what the cause for overpayment was in each such case.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 18th June 2019

The specific breakdown requested is not available. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has no business need for a breakdown of this type and therefore our systems do not have this functionality.

DWP is committed to preventing overpayments from occurring.

The Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. There are maximum rates of deduction that are set out in legislation, and if a claimant is struggling they can contact the Department’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate.

DWP is constantly improving its data and analytical tools to detect and prevent issues as early as possible. DWP works to ensure claimants are aware of their obligation to report any changes in their circumstances. We are constantly reviewing our approach to make sure it is as effective as possible.

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