Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Please provide the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1. The number and value of debts loaded onto Debt Manager by Debt Type that relate to a UC claim for each financial year from 2014 to date;

2. The number and value of debts loaded onto Debt Manager by Debt Type recovered by way of a deduction from UC in the same timeframe;

3. The number of applications for:

a) discretionary waiver;
b) reduction of the repayment, and
c) suspension of the repayment

made in the same timeframe. Please provide the breakdown of the applications by Debt Type and the number of successful applications in each category.

A FOIA response from the DWP to Caroline Selman on 28 March 2022 (Your Ref: FOI2022/12570) provided the number of waivers granted, albeit not the number of requests for discretionary waivers made. Please provide us with data relating to both these categories, broken down by Debt Type.

Please also provide:

4. The number of claimants from whom UC RHP debt was recovered in each financial year between 2014 to date;

5. The total amount of UC RHP debt recovered from claimants in each financial year between 2014 to date;

6. The number of claimants who have been granted UC RHP following a sanction in each financial year between 2014 to date.

By Debt Type we mean broken down by:

a) Advance Payments
b) UC Overpayment (fraud)
c) UC Overpayment (Official error):
d) UC Overpayment (Claimant error)
e) Tax Credits
f) Recoverable Hardship Payments (RHPs)
g) Third-party deductions
h) Others.

We look forward to receiving the requested information within 20 working days as provided for by the FOIA.

Yours faithfully,
Jagna Olejniczak