Official Error and Waiver Statistics 2025/26
As the managed migration process essentially concluded at the end of 2025/26, tens of thousands of potentially vulnerable clients became financially responsible for Departmental officials errors for the first time.
Unlike the legacy benefits these claimants have migrated from, under the Universal Credit system, overpayments are recoverable even if they are caused by the error of the Department for Communities (DfC). These claimants have done nothing wrong. They may have received this money over a prolonged period with a legitimate expectation that it would have been correctly calculated and that they were entitled to spend it. When they later find out that DfC had made a mistake and are now seeking recovery, it can cause significant anxiety and hardship. This is why knowledge of the ability to request a discretionary waiver of an overpayment is particularly important under the Universal Credit system.
New statistics obtained by the Law Centre show a 33% increase in identified Universal Credit overpayments in Northern Ireland caused by official errors. The almost 20,000 official errors in 25/26 equated to almost £12.8 million. We are continuing to call for the official publication of open and transparent data to help encourage a reduction in errors made during the decision-making process.
Why is this data important?
We are arguing that the official publication of open and transparent data relating to overpayments would help to highlight the extent of the issue, identify areas for improvement, increase accountability and ensure that action is taken to reduce the instances of errors.
Rising numbers of households in Northern Ireland are living in financial hardship and poverty. Low-income families simply cannot afford to repay overpayments which occurred through no fault of their own.
Law Centre NI regularly hear directly from our clients about the stress and anxiety that is caused by the recovery of overpayments which have been caused through no fault of their own. This can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.
Raising awareness of Discretionary Waiver
It is possible that a claimant can ask DfC to apply its discretion in the recovery of official error overpayments and waive the repayment. This is known as a ‘Discretionary Waiver.’
Following a Law Centre NI campaign in 2022 calling for the Department for Communities to increase awareness of Discretionary Waivers among claimants, DfC now includes information about the option of a Discretionary Waiver in its overpayment notification letters. As a result of our campaign, staff and guidance have also been updated to ensure DfC staff inform claimants that they can request a Discretionary Waiver and that staff are aware that they can waive the recovery of official error overpayments.
There has been an evident increase in the numbers of Universal Credit official error waivers that have been granted since Law Centre NI’s campaign. The value of UC official error overpayments waived in 25/26 was £256,696. Despite the increase in waivers granted, only 0.41% of Universal Credit overpayments caused by official error were waived last year. This means that 99.6% of Universal Credit overpayments caused by Departmental error are recovered from clients who were not responsible for the overpayment occurring.
It is important that everyone who meets the criteria for waiver is aware of the possibility and is encouraged to apply. We encourage advisers and claimants to look closely at their options for requesting that an overpayment is waived. A waiver would relieve claimants of the worry of the financial burden of making repayments from an already tight budget.
We have prepared a useful guide with template letters to assist both claimants and advisers request a Discretionary Waiver.
The guide can be found here.
Statistics on Discretionary Waivers across all benefits
Discretionary Waiver is particularly important for benefits such as Universal Credit were official error overpayments are recoverable from claimants. However, Discretionary Waivers are also important for all types of benefits where recovery of the overpayment is having a significant negative impact on the claimant or their family. As the statistics below demonstrate, the majority of claimants that seek a discretionary waiver are granted one. This is why Law Centre NI continues to work to raise awareness of the availability of waivers among advisers and clients.
Data is also available which breaks down the instances of waivers from benefit to benefit.
Contact us
Law Centre NI can provide advice and assistance on overpayments and discretionary waiver. Contact the social security team on 028 9024 4401, Monday to Friday, 09:30-13:00.
Access to Justice and Human Rights
Read our client ‘Rachel’s’ story who contacted our advice line about a Universal Credit Overpayment