A Bill to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the potential merits of prohibiting the making of deductions from certain social security benefits within the first six months of a claim, of restricting the making of deductions in cases where a claimant is at risk of hardship, of reducing the maximum proportion of a claim that may be deducted, and of changing the priority order in which debt repayments are recovered by deductions; to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the adequacy of the rate at which social security benefits are paid; to require the Secretary of State to publish a strategy for increasing the availability of free debt and money advice for people claiming social security benefits; and for connected purposes.
House of Commons
14 February 2025
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The Welfare Benefits (Adequacy, Debt and Deductions) Bill would require the Secretary of State to report on potential reforms to how deductions from social security benefits are made. It aims to reduce hardship by restricting or delaying deductions, limit how much can be taken from a claim, and adjust the order in which debts are repaid. It also requires a review of benefit payment rates and a plan to expand free debt and money advice for people on benefits.
The bill is currently at the Second Reading in the House of Commons. If it progresses, it would move to committee stage and later stages (Report, Third Reading) in the Commons, and then to the Lords for consideration.
Generated 21 February 2026
13 Dec 2023
The dissolution of Parliament took place on Thursday 30 May 2024. All business in the House of Commons and House of Lords has come to an end and this bill will make no further progress.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
