How do deductions impact benefits claimants?

Title: Data, Discretion, and Debt: Third-Party Actors in Universal Credit Deductions

Abstract: Third-party actors have long supported the administration of welfare, through facilitating access to services, providing wraparound support, and advocating for individuals. However, under the Universal Credit "deductions" scheme-where the DWP can withhold a portion of an individual's benefits to repay debts-third-party actors play a key informational role in formal welfare decisions. While research has begun to explore the operational influence that third-party actors have in the Universal Credit system, this paper provides empirical evidence of how these decision-making structures manifest and impact claimants in practice. Drawing on 28 semi-structured interviews with benefits-claimants, third-sector advisors, and private landlords, this paper explores two central ways in which external actors can intimately affect an individual's claim through data entry. First, through debt creation: when third parties fail to provide accurate information about an individual's circumstances, overpayments occur. Second, through debt collection: an expansive list of creditors can provide debt information to the DWP, and initiate deductions from an individual's award. The findings demonstrate that there are little checks on third-party actions within these roles, leading to a fragmented system and disparate experiences of debt deductions for both creditors and claimants.

Author: Izzie Salter

Publication: Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

Link: here.

Funding: ESRC