The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that Universal Credit claimants who were overpaid due to official errors may be required to repay the money, as all overpayments are recoverable.
Official error overpayments treated same as claimant errors
Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, submitted two written parliamentary questions asking how many Universal Credit overpayments caused by official errors had been recovered in each of the past three years, along with their total value. He also requested details of how many applications to waive recovery of these overpayments had been received and approved over the same period.
Lilian Greenwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the DWP, confirmed that official error overpayments are subject to the same recovery rules as those caused by claimants. She said: "Official error overpayments within Universal Credit are treated the same as claimant error overpayments, as all overpayments are recoverable and we no longer track them separately for administrative purposes."
Recovery and waiver options
Greenwood directed Gordon to the department's published fraud and error estimates and its annual report and accounts, which contain information about debt waivers. However, the response did not provide totals for official error overpayments recovered during the three years requested.
Under Universal Credit rules, an overpayment can be recovered even when the claimant did nothing wrong and the mistake was entirely the department's responsibility. This differs from rules applied to some other benefits, where overpayments are automatically waived.
Excess Universal Credit payments are recoverable regardless of whether they resulted from a claimant mistake or an official error, as stated in the DWP's benefit overpayment recovery guidance. Recovery can be carried out through several methods, including a deduction from future payments or an agreed-upon instalment plan.
When debts may be reduced or waived
Debts can be reduced or suspended depending on the claimant's circumstances. For example, the debts might be waived if repayment would cause significant hardship. Waiver decisions can take into account a claimant's financial circumstances, the impact of recovery on their health or family, and the department's conduct.
Errors that are the DWP's fault do not automatically mean debts will be waived. According to the official guidance, waivers require compelling grounds, with each request assessed according to the claimant's individual circumstances.
