Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer
Single mothers on postgraduate courses say they are being unfairly pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over thousands of pounds in benefits which officials claim were paid in error.
One researcher faces a demand of more than £24,000 after having been told she was entitled to claim universal credit. Campaigners are calling for an urgent review.
Ruth Talbot, the founder of the campaign group Single Parent Rights, said the DWP was making errors in the calculation of benefits and in its repayment demands which were causing hardship and distress for single mothers, including those studying for further qualifications.
She said: “The DWP’s policy of demanding large repayments from single-parent families for official errors is completely unacceptable and leaves many families struggling in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
“If the DWP makes overpayments, any subsequent demands for repayments must be made in a timely, transparent, and reasonable manner. The DWP must also shoulder some of the financial burden for their own mistakes.”
Universal credit was introduced in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and replaced six “legacy” benefits and tax credits, including income support, child tax credit and housing benefit.
The DWP estimates that in 2022-23 there were about £250m of overpayments of universal credit caused by official error. It says it can demand overpayments back from claimants, but the High Court ruled in a case in February that its decision not to waive recovery from a claimant who provided all relevant facts and would suffer hardship was unlawful.
Single parents who are in further education are advised on the government website they may be able to claim universal credit if they are “responsible for a child”. Some single parents who have claimed after providing all information to the DWP have later been landed with large repayments demands.
Penny Davis, 46, an artist, from Loughborough, who has three children, faces a demand of £12,382 from the DWP after she claimed universal credit while taking a break for family reasons from her PhD in drawing and maternal subjectivity at Loughborough University.
She was in receipt of a university scholarship for her living costs while studying, but it was suspended during her leave of absence from January to September last year.
She provided all relevant information to the DWP and was paid universal credit worth up to £1,400 a month during the period she was not receiving any grant. The DWP said she owed the money after she notified the department she was returning to her studies last September.
The DWP said its rules were that anyone taking a break from studies must be treated as receiving the same income from any student loan as prior to the suspension of their studies.
Davis is not in receipt of a loan so the rules cited appear to be irrelevant. The DWP rejected an appeal and she is now appealing to the social security and child support tribunal.
She said: “It has pushed me into a desperate situation where I can no longer claim anything. I have got massive credit card debts just on my living costs.”
Jane Wardle, 38, from Darlington, who has a 12-year-old daughter, started a PhD at Teesside University funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in October 2020, and was told by a DWP agent she was entitled to universal credit.
She changed to part-time studies in May because of illness and requiring more time to look after her daughter. She was issued with a demand for £24,805 after contacting the DWP. It said she had been overpaid after an “official error”.
Wardle said: “I am the first in my immediate family to hold a university degree. You know, you go to try and better yourself and then you’re penalised because you are a single parent.
“This overpayment will not only push me into extreme financial hardship but the stress as a result of this will have a severe impact on my physical and mental health and have a knock-on effect on my daughter.” Like Davis, Wardle is now appealing to the social security and child support tribunal.
A government spokesperson said: “We apologise for any error caused. Generally, students access fees and living costs support for their higher education courses through various loans and grants funded through the student support system.
“It is important that universal credit does not duplicate the student support system, which is designed for the needs of students unlike the social security system. We carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer with our support for claimants on benefits. Safeguards are in place to make sure deductions are manageable, including payment plans.”
