Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the impact of universal credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants living and working in Newport West constituency.

No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of Universal Credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.

To enable households to retain more of their Universal Credit award towards day to day living costs we have reduced the normal maximum amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit, from 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, to 30% and from April 2021 to 25%. As a result, there were 792,000 people in May 2021 who potentially have had reduced deductions due to the most recent policy change.

These measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties, and other processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable. Customers can also contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment of benefit overpayments, or a temporary suspension, depending on financial circumstances.