The scale of automatic debt repayments administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) means that, across all families receiving universal credit (UC), the basic payment is on average 8% lower than the official figure, according to analysis published today by the New Economics Foundation (NEF). This means every £1 in £13 paid through the basic rate is lost to debt deductions.
Using parliamentary questions, the analysis also finds that half of people currently receiving UC have money automatically deducted from their social security payments to repay debts.
