Millions of Britons on Universal Credit have seen their payments slashed to repay debts and advance payments.
Figures for May 2023 comparing all parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain showed Birmingham, Ladywood had the highest total deductions, at £646,000.
This affected 11,000 claims in the area out of a total of 23,400, with an average deduction of £59.
The second highest area was Leeds Central, with a total of £624,000. More than half of claims were affected, with an average deduction of £63.
The area with the highest proportion of claims affected was Middlesbrough, where six in 10 claimants were hit by a deduction, followed by Liverpool, Walton, at 59 percent. Both areas were also in the top 10 for the highest total deductions.
These were the top 10 areas where the mosts deductions were taken in May:
- Birmingham, Ladywood – £646,000
- Leeds Central – £624,000
- Tottenham – £622,000
- Manchester Central – £589,000
- Blackley and Broughton – £583,000
- Brent Central – £582,000
- Middlesbrough – £559,000
- Knowsley – £526,000
- West Ham – £525,000
- Liverpool, Walton – £523,000.
There was a total of £143.5billion in Universal Credit deductions across the UK in May 2023.
Looking at the area that paid the least, the constituency of Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly the Western Isles in Scotland, paid just £26,000.
The remote region has the lowest number of Universal Credit claimants, with just 1,300 claims, and only 500 of these faced a deduction.
The second lowest payer was another small island area, Orkney and Shetland, while the third lowest was Sheffield, Hallam.
The areas with the highest average deductions were the London areas of Harrow East and Brent North, which both had an average deduction of £69.
At the other end of the spectrum, Brighton, Pavilion had the lowest average deduction, at just £56.
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