Recommendation 31

For a means tested benefit such as Universal Credit, people entitled to receive the benefit will be those in society with lower incomes and savings.64 The National Audit Office’s (NAO’s) recent study on Universal Credit: getting to first payment found that ‘the Department does not have all the information it needs to track vulnerable claimants and ensure its support is effective.’ NAO’s analysis of claims due for payment from January to September 2019 found that people with low incomes or whose claim includes additional costs, such as costs for a disabled child, are more likely to have deductions applied to their first Universal Credit payment to cover advance payment and other debts. Its analysis also found that deductions can be substantial and are more likely to be so for low income claimants; 45% of Universal Credit claimants on low incomes have 20% or more of their personal allowance deducted in the first assessment period, in contrast to the 27% average across all claims.65