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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Albert Toth and Holly Bancroft

UK poverty crisis laid bare as 500,000 children living in families trapped in benefits debt cycle

More than 500,000 children are living in families in debt to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to new figures which lay bare the scale of the benefits loan trap.

At least 800,000 households on universal credit are having money deducted from their monthly payments to repay loans that helped them survive the five-week wait until their first benefits came in, data obtained by Citizens Advice shows.

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