The number one priority for the DWP is to claw back universal credit cash through sanctions - according to a recently revealed hit list.
This debt management guide shows these financial penalties are imposed if officials believe claimants have broken the rules - such as failing to turn up to jobcentre appointments.
The document, seen by Birmingham Live , shows how the Department for Work and Pensions prioritises the recovery of deductions from Universal Credit (UC).
The full list is here:
However, there have been a long list of issues with the system.
In one case the DWP sent appointment letters to the wrong address and in another a sanction was imposed on a claimant following two 'missed appointments' with a work coach, despite evidence from a doctor that they were too ill to attend.
One man said his local jobcentre halted his UC payments after he failed to turn up for a meeting - even though they only sent details of the appointment a month after it was supposed to take place.
The DWP insists its deductions are designed to protect vulnerable claimants from falling into poverty.
Those on the new benefit face also face cuts to their payments to pay back arrears such as overdue rent, utility bills and council tax.
More than half of Universal Credit claimants have had their payments cut, figures have shown.
It was revealed earlier that 532,000 Universal Credit claimants had some of their payments deducted in October 2018.
Six thousand claimants had reductions of 40 per cent of their allowance or more, while 129,000 claimants had deductions of between 31 and 40 per cent.
How local authorities are also affected
The way in which debts are reclaimed is also having an impact on local authorities.
Councils are now finding it more difficult to recover some of the cash they are owed - such as unpaid council tax - because it has moved further down the DWP's list of debt recovery priorities.
In many cases, people are already paying back the maximum amount in deductions and so these other debts cannot be recovered.
The DWP response
A DWP spokesman said: "Priority of deductions are carefully designed to protect vulnerable claimants.
"The top priority is paying rent and fuel arrears, to keep people in their homes, warm and with the lights on – council tax payments are a lower priority.
"Universal Credit has a co-ordinated approach to making deductions from benefits, simplifying the current complex arrangements."
DWP documents say The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 Schedule 6 states what deductions may be made and what payments may be paid direct to third parties.
It also details the maximum amount deductible and the order of priority.
The maximum amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit is an amount equivalent to 40 per cent of the claimant’s standard allowance.
There are two exceptions:
· Deductions for normal consumption of utilities do not count towards the 40 per cent maximum
· If a sanction or penalty is being applied, or if an advance is being recovered, priority deductions i.e. housing and fuel costs are still taken even if the total amount of deductions is higher than the 40 per cent
A maximum of three third party deductions are taken at any given time and if the claimant is receiving insufficient Universal Credit to meet the deductions the priority order listed below is applied.
