Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that only 40% of universal credit (UC) claimants get the full amount they are entitled to.
The data shows that the other 60% of claimants are having their UC cut to pay off debts and loans, including advance payments.
This means that over a million of the current 1,759,000 UC claimants are having to survive on less than their already low UC entitlement.
The reality is probably even worse as the figures do not include claimants who are receiving less than their full amount because they have been sanctioned.
The average amount that UC claimants owe to the DWP is £903.
But 570,000 households owe more than £1,000.
You can read the full story in the Guardian.
