Volumes of Universal Credit claimants with tax credit overpayments
Published 31 May 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-claimants-with-tax-credit-overpayments/volumes-of-universal-credit-claimants-with-tax-credit-overpayments
Introduction
This publication provides ad hoc statistics about Universal Credit customers with tax credit overpayment debts.
The data in this publication is for 30 April 2019.
At 30 April 2019, 570,000 customers were repaying tax credit overpayments via Universal Credit.
Results
The latest Universal Credit caseload statistics indicate that just under 2 million people are claiming Universal Credit.
As of 30 April 2019, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) primary internal data match indicates that there are 570,000 claimants with Universal Credit in payment who are repaying tax credit overpayments through Universal Credit
410,000 Universal Credit claimants with an outstanding tax credit debt have had a deduction to repay this debt within the last 31 days. The mean and median amount of tax credit debt outstanding for these claimants is £1,560 and £610 respectively.
Please be aware that these figures are rounded to the nearest £10 and do not include the outstanding balances of claimants who are not currently repaying towards their tax credit overpayment debt.
About these statistics
The figures presented in this release are from the DWP management information which has been collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
The volume of claimants with at least one outstanding balance on a tax credit overpayment debt has been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
Some claimants are not in active recovery, that is the DWP is not currently deducting from benefit. This may be the case for several reasons including:
- in work claimants who are not currently receiving benefit
- claimants whose benefit payment is too small to deduct from
- instances where a further deduction from benefit would leave the claimant with too little or zero payment
- insolvent claimants
Where a deduction has been taken from benefit within the last 31 days, the mean and median have been calculated above and reported to the nearest £10.
Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:
- trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
- quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
- value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs
The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.
Trustworthiness
The figures were created following interest from DWP ministers and the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
They are being published now in order to give equal access to all those with an interest in them.
DWP analysts work to a professional competency framework and Civil Service core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality. The analysis in this release has been scrutinised and received sign off by the expert lead analyst.
We protect the security of our data in order to maintain the privacy of the citizen, fulfil relevant legal obligations and uphold our obligation that no statistics will be produced that are likely to identify an individual, while at the same time taking account of our obligation to obtain maximum value from the data we hold for statistical purposes. All analysts are given security training and the majority of data accessed by analysts is obfuscated and access is business case controlled based to the minimum data required.
The analysis has been created following interest from DWP ministers and the Work and Pensions Select Committee. The information has been seen in advance of publication by ministers and officials and we are publishing to ensure equality of access.
Quality
The data which underpins this information is taken directly and solely from departmental systems, which are relied upon by DWP for the accurate payment of Universal Credit and recovery of benefit overpayments.
Quality assurance has taken place in line with the standards usually applied to DWP ad hoc releases, with an internal check that the results shown are robust, and a true representation of tax credit overpayments for Universal Credit claimants.
Value
Releasing this information serves the increased public interest in the volume of individuals who are currently claiming Universal Credit and had a previous tax credit overpayment. The figures add to the wider stock of information on those who are claiming Universal Credit. The figures also help reduce the administrative burden of answering Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests and other forms of ad hoc enquiry.
Further information and feedback
Lead statistician: bill.parnham@dwp.gov.uk
Analyst: phil.smith2@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
DWP Press Office: 0203 267 5129