Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 109
For this group of claimants, the burden of future repayments of Advances is likely to...
Conclusion
For this group of claimants, the burden of future repayments of Advances is likely to be particularly difficult to bear. Given that benefits broadly provide people with a subsistence level of income, any system that reduces that monthly income, including through repaying an advance, is very likely to cause people difficulty. The Department already plans to extend the repayment period for Advances from 12 to 24 months, and to reduce the cap on deductions from an award of Universal Credit to 25% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance. But even a 25% cap leaves claimants receiving substantially less than a subsistence level of income. And these changes will not happen until October 2021—some three years after they were first announced. The Minister says that he would love to be able to do this sooner, but cannot because of constraints in the Universal Credit build programme: : a clear case of “computer says no”.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response discusses Work Capability Assessments and payment timeliness, rather than addressing the committee's concerns about the burden of Advance repayments.
Paragraph Reference:
109
Government Response
The government responded to this report on 12 January 2021. No passage in that response could be matched to this conclusion. Read the response document ↗