Universal Credit deductions (No. 2)

That this House notes that sums deducted from Universal Credit to repay debts, overpayments, and advance payments are a main driver of need for food banks; notes that 41 per cent of Universal Credit claims are subject to deductions averaging £70 per month; notes that after the introduction of a national lockdown in March 2020, the Government suspended for three months the deductions to repay debts and overpayments; notes that the full resumption of deductions since July 2020 has eliminated much of the effect on claimants' living standards of the twelve-month increase in the standard allowance; and calls on the Government to reintroduce its suspension of deductions to repay debts and overpayments, and to introduce with immediate effect its stated policy, which is not due to take effect until October 2021, of easing the rate of deductions from Universal Credit by extending the repayment period for advance payments and lowering the monthly cap on deductions.