[MaxGhenis]

Fixes #2799

What and why

Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Newham and Westminster assess a working-age applicant on Universal Credit on two figures: the Secretary of State's calculation of the applicant's income, and the amount of the award. Merton and Kingston upon Thames print the Default Scheme's para 37(1), (3)(a) and (4) (SI 2012/2886) in their 2026-27 schemes, at pages 69 and 45. Newham counts "the amount of entitlement to universal credit" (para 37(3)(a) and (4), pages 90 and 91). In its 2026/27 summary, Westminster compares the maximum amount "to the actual universal credit award plus any other income and earnings received" (page 3).

The Secretary of State reduces the award for the benefit cap (UC Regs 2013 reg 81(1)), then recovers debts from it: advances and other payments on account (SI 2013/383 reg 10), overpayments (SI 2013/384 reg 10) and the claimant's liabilities to third parties (SI 2013/380 Sch 6 para 2(1)). The Secretary of State may not make a third-party deduction that leaves less than a penny payable (Sch 6 para 3(1)(a)), and in para 11(5) the Secretary of State treats the award and "the amount payable" as two figures. legacy_council_tax_reduction runs the four councils' working-age schemes. On main it reads universal_credit, the amount payable after both the benefit cap and uc_deductions. A debt deduction can therefore raise the modelled reduction by up to 20p per £1 in Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Westminster, or 25p in Newham. Where Merton already grants the full £2,600, as it does a claimant with no earnings, a £600 deduction leaves the reduction unchanged on main and on this branch.

legacy_council_tax_reduction now counts universal_credit + uc_deductions, the award after the benefit cap and before deductions. The comment above uc_applicable_income cites reg 81(1), SI 2013/383 reg 10, SI 2013/384 reg 10 and SI 2013/380 Sch 6 paras 2(1), 3(1)(a) and 11(5) beside the Default Scheme.

• Only the four councils call legacy_council_tax_reduction. Oxford's formula imports applicant_has_universal_credit alone, so this change leaves Oxford's figures, and its route on Assess Oxford Universal Credit applicants on Appendix 3 income #2794, unchanged.
• This change leaves applicant_has_universal_credit unchanged; draft Treat income derived from capital as capital in the legacy means tests #1995 redefines it.
• The four councils' parameters take effect on 1 April 2026, and each council counts the award as above in its 2026-27 text.
• A household calculation gets no deductions unless it supplies them (uc_deduction_random_draw gives 1.0 outside data-built simulations), so calculators move only when a user enters deductions.

Unless a row says otherwise, the household has a single person aged 35 in 2026 who earns £8,000, rents from the council at £7,800 and owes council tax of £2,600. The award comes to £8,498.80, and income exceeds the maximum amount by £3,600:

Council	Household and deduction	universal_credit	Reduction on main	Reduction now
Merton	no deduction	£8,498.80	£1,880.00	£1,880.00
Merton	£600	£7,898.80	£2,000.00	£1,880.00
Kingston upon Thames	£600	£7,898.80	£2,000.00	£1,880.00
Newham	£600	£7,898.80	£1,070.00	£920.00
Westminster	£600	£7,898.80	£2,000.00	£1,880.00
Newham	£764.82, the model's annual deduction at the 15% cap	£7,733.98	£1,111.20	£920.00
Merton	£764.82 (the model's annual figure), after an entered £1,200 benefit cap reduction	£6,533.98	£2,272.96	£2,120.00
Merton	£600, with a £1,000 private pension	£6,898.80	£2,000.00	£1,880.00
Kingston upon Thames	£600, with £8,000 of savings (£417.60 a year of tariff income)	£7,481.20	£2,000.00	£1,880.00
Merton	£600, with a non-dependant aged 40	£6,740.20	£1,729.60	£1,609.60
Merton	£764.82 (the model's annual figure), rent of £17,468.20 and a £1,200 benefit cap reduction the model computes	£16,202.18	£2,272.96	£2,120.00
Merton	the same household under an 85% protected floor	£17,402.18	£2,032.96	£1,880.00

The model works in annual amounts and takes a deduction at DWP's 15% cap as 15% × £424.90 × 12 = £764.82 a year. The Secretary of State deducts by assessment period and rounds 15% × £424.90 = £63.735 to £63.74 (SI 2013/380 Sch 6 para 1(2)), or £764.88 over twelve assessment periods.

In the household with rent of £17,468.20, the model gives a maximum amount of £22,567 and an award before the cap of £18,167, and reduces the award by £1,200 to the £16,967 cap for a single person in Greater London. It deducts £764.82 and leaves £16,202.18 payable. Without the deduction the model leaves £16,967 payable, and Merton grants £2,120 either way. Under the 85% floor, the model meets the £764.82 deduction first and applies none of the cap reduction, so Merton counts the £18,167 award.

Invariants

The property test checks these conditions in 2026 for generated working-age single people, couples and families with children on Universal Credit in the four councils. It draws benefit cap reductions from nil to more than the award, and deduction demands from nil through the 15% cap to an above-cap excess:

1. universal_credit + uc_deductions equals the award after the cap, max(universal_credit_pre_benefit_cap - uc_benefit_cap_reduction, 0), and a family with deductions keeps at least a penny a month payable. allocate_uc_reductions caps deductions at the award less the penny, so the sum recovers the award, including a nil award.
2. While the award exceeds nil, each council grants the same reduction with and without deductions.
3. Where the award exceeds nil, each council's reduction matches a second implementation that the test writes from para 37 and the scheme's rates, max(0, liability × maximum support rate − withdrawal rate × max(0, earned income + unearned income + award − maximum amount)).

Test plan

• For policy changes: YAML tests whose expected values come from an external source. Each of the 15 cases in council_tax_reduction_universal_credit_deductions.yaml shows its arithmetic from the councils' schemes, UC Regs 2013 regs 22, 66, 72, 81 and 82 and Sch 4 paras 13 and 14, and DWP's 2026-27 rates.
• make format equivalent on the changed Python files: ruff format --check, ruff check, ruff check --select F811,F821 policyengine_uk, git diff --check.
• Changelog fragment changelog.d/2799.fixed.md.

These local runs used Python 3.13 and no survey data, at this branch's head unless a line names another commit:

• New YAML, council_tax_reduction_universal_credit_deductions.yaml, 15 cases: 15 passed. With main's _legacy.py, 11 failed and 4 passed. The four cases without a deduction pass, and the eleven with one give the main column above.
• New property test, test_four_councils_count_the_universal_credit_award_before_deductions (max_examples=15 generated examples plus one explicit, 16 households each): 1 passed. With main's _legacy.py it fails invariant 2: Merton's reduction for the issue's single person rises from £1,880 to £2,032.96 with a £764.82 deduction.
• The CTR YAML directory, policyengine_uk/tests/policy/baseline/gov/local_authorities/council_tax_reduction/ (23 files): 346 passed.
• test_benefit_cap_and_ctr_pension_age_properties.py: 2 passed at afeddde02, which differs from this head only in comments, the changelog and this PR's two test files.
• Seven property files that name the councils build household situations and enter no deduction input. There uc_deduction_random_draw gives 1.0, uc_has_deduction stays false and uc_deductions stays nil, so the change leaves their figures unchanged. At 5fff4ca73 and 21bc1163b, which differ from this head only in comments: test_council_tax_reduction_child_benefit_properties.py, 3 passed; test_council_tax_reduction_claimant_properties.py, 3 passed; test_council_tax_reduction_prescribed_benefits_properties.py, 4 passed; test_household_head_agreement_properties.py, 3 passed; test_legacy_award_readers_properties.py, 18 passed; test_pension_contribution_deduction_rate_properties.py, 2 passed; test_council_tax_reduction_claimant_family_scheme_properties.py, 3 passed.
• At earlier commits of this branch with the same formula: legacy_award_readers/council_tax_reduction_passports.yaml, 11 passed; test_isa_income_consumers.py, which builds a dataset in Westminster, 3 passed; test_council_tax_reduction_maintenance_wpa.py, 45 passed; test_non_dependant_spousal_maintenance.py, 4 passed; test_council_tax_reduction_applicant_properties.py, 2 passed.

Each mutation of the fix ran at dd39eafbb in a scratch copy outside the branch:

• Counting universal_credit_pre_benefit_cap less uc_benefit_cap_reduction, the award after the gross cap rather than the cap the model applies, fails the 85% floor case (£2,120 against £1,880). The property test misses it, since it runs current law only.
• Adding the deductions back only where uc_unearned_income is nil fails the private pension and savings cases (£2,000 against £1,880). The property test misses it, since its households have no unearned income.
• Counting universal_credit_pre_benefit_cap, the award before the cap, fails both benefit cap cases (£1,880 against £2,120) and the property test's invariant 3.
• Adding the deductions back twice fails the 11 YAML cases with a deduction and the property test's invariant 2.
• Subtracting the deductions fails the 11 YAML cases with a deduction and the property test's invariant 2.

Merge notes

git merge-tree --write-tree --name-only of this branch's head against:

• main (2da212abc), Assess Oxford Universal Credit applicants on Appendix 3 income #2794 (19378b97f), Report the benefit cap reduction actually applied to Universal Credit #2647 (c98c879a7), Gate supplied UC latent deduction rates on uc_has_deduction #2760 (16d06d8c2), and Fix HB and national CTR non-dependant deductions #2007 (02cc0896f and its current head 97f792542): clean.
• Treat income derived from capital as capital in the legacy means tests #1995 (1b8f2dede) and Charge non-dependant deductions within the claimant's benefit unit #2017 (3efa8bd60) also edit _legacy.py, which merges cleanly. Treat income derived from capital as capital in the legacy means tests #1995 conflicts with main in six other files and Charge non-dependant deductions within the claimant's benefit unit #2017 in seven, the same with or without this branch.
• Give Scotland and Wales working-age CTR their own rules #1966 (779f5dcfd) conflicts with main in test_means_test_income_properties.py, and Count a non-dependant shared by joint tenants in each tenant's Housing Benefit size criteria #2035 (b435c91e2) in fourteen files, _legacy.py among them. This branch adds no conflicting file to either.

#2760 makes uc_deduction_rate count a latent rate only where uc_has_deduction holds, so the tests here set that flag wherever they supply a latent rate. A uc_deduction_rate entered directly bypasses that formula on both branches, and main reads no flag on the latent path.

Once #1995 lands, applicant_has_universal_credit also holds for an entitled claimant with nothing payable after the benefit cap or deductions, and there universal_credit + uc_deductions gives the award. If a user enters uc_deductions above the award, the model would then count more than the award: with #1995's predicate, a user who enters £9,000 against the £8,498.80 award gets a Merton reduction of £1,779.76, where the award itself gives £1,880. allocate_uc_reductions never produces that case, since it leaves at least a penny a month payable. This PR adds no bound, because a bound on computed entitlement could suppress a Universal Credit amount a user supplies. A calculator can instead refuse, at entry, deductions a user enters above the award.

Reproducer: policyengine_uk/tests/policy/baseline/gov/local_authorities/council_tax_reduction/council_tax_reduction_universal_credit_deductions.yaml; policyengine_uk/tests/test_council_tax_reduction_uc_deductions_properties.py::test_four_councils_count_the_universal_credit_award_before_deductions

axiom: TheAxiomFoundation/rulespec-uk#521 queued

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

Aggregate impact on certified data: pass

Base 46a60678ff against head 77bf898a42, both on enhanced_frs_2024_25.h5 (policyengine-uk-data 1.58.1, sha256 056e80fd8e91), fiscal years 2025-26 to 2031-32. Each year is a full microsimulation run on each side.

Checks: 0 broken by this change, 1 failing on both sides, 0 fixed. Moves flagged for review: 0 (thresholds in report_spec.yaml; a flag does not fail the job).

Workflow run and full report

Notes

• In the years a figure from fewer than 10 records is suppressed (spending.disabled_students_allowance), every total containing it, and the decile incomes, are rebuilt from their other components, so no published total includes it. Those totals are marked †. A change is withheld where the two sides leave out different figures and can't be lined up.

Moves flagged for review

None.

Spending by benefit and service

Measure	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Disabled Students' Allowance	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed

Caseloads

Measure	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Disabled Students' Allowance	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed

Standard reform costings (change in gov_balance)

Measure	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Raise Class 1 main employee NICs rate to 10%	0	0	0	0	0	suppressed	suppressed
Raise additional rate by 3pp	0	0	0	0	0	suppressed	suppressed

Standard reforms: change in each reform's target

Measure	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Raise Class 1 main employee NICs rate to 10%: change in national_insurance	0	0	0	0	0	suppressed	suppressed
Raise additional rate by 3pp: change in income_tax	0	0	0	0	0	suppressed	suppressed

Household net income by decile

No household's net income changes in any year.

No change in any year: receipts by tax head; government balance, each component counted once; model totals; household income totals; population; poverty rates; people in poverty; inequality; mean household net income in each side's own deciles.

Checks failing on both base and head (1)

• VAT excluding private school fees is never negative (sign:vat): 2025-26: 76 units below zero, a weighted £-53,888,684 in total; 2026-27: 76 units below zero, a weighted £-55,777,260 in total; 2027-28: 76 units below zero, a weighted £-57,727,917 in total

Counted-once check

Each of 92 components was raised by £1 per unit in 2026-27, and every head of its totals was read household by household: its own head must rise by exactly £1, no other tax head may move, no other benefit may rise, and the model's own total must move by what its heads moved. A head that breaks a rule is measured again twice: with every other head held at its baseline value, and with every other head held at its value after the first £1 while the component rises again. It fails where either still shows the response. 0 failed; 0 were skipped.

• widowed_parents_allowance: pension_credit responds only through other heads in fewer than 10 households (other heads that moved there: carers_allowance; gov_spending; not a failure)
• widowed_parents_allowance: pension_credit responds only through other heads in fewer than 10 households (other heads that moved there: carers_allowance; household_benefits; not a failure)

Provenance

Side	Commit	Runtime	Environment hash	Partition hash	Time
base	main 46a60678ff	uk 2.170.2 (files 313aa9b13826), core 3.33.12, py 3.13.18 aarch64	55127f469306	7cb61324a46b	2065.26s
head	#2822 merged into main 77bf898a42	uk 2.170.2 (files e5593c2228c4), core 3.33.12, py 3.13.18 aarch64	55127f469306	7cb61324a46b	2113.67s

Dataset: hf://policyengine/policyengine-uk-data-private/enhanced_frs_2024_25.h5@2526edbbb687a3b54dbb11272e5389e4b62d2ac2, sha256 056e80fd8e9151d78f432a25cde863340baee81304c6216a37fb575ce8563784 (verified on both sides), policyengine-uk-data 1.58.1.

Receipts by tax head: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Final charge on cash interest in non-cash ISAs	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Lifetime ISA withdrawal charge	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Income tax	£294.46bn	£315.23bn	£335.82bn	£351.28bn	£366.96bn	£385.36bn	£400.00bn
National Insurance (employee and self-employed)	£51.70bn	£54.14bn	£56.13bn	£57.73bn	£59.76bn	£61.64bn	£63.51bn
National Insurance (employer)	£148.71bn	£155.37bn	£160.88bn	£165.09bn	£172.06bn	£177.36bn	£182.57bn
Employer NI change borne by capital	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Employer NI change borne by consumers	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Capital gains tax	£12.60bn	£13.15bn	£13.60bn	£14.11bn	£14.67bn	£15.24bn	£15.80bn
Student loan repayments	£7.82bn	£8.13bn	£8.39bn	£8.58bn	£8.79bn	£9.04bn	£9.29bn
VAT excluding private school fees	£249.37bn	£256.87bn	£266.33bn	£272.70bn	£278.97bn	£285.24bn	£291.59bn
Change in VAT from its baseline	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
VAT on private school fees	£1.95bn	£2.01bn	£2.09bn	£2.14bn	£2.20bn	£2.26bn	£2.31bn
Change in private school VAT from its baseline	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Fuel duties	£24.71bn	£24.13bn	£26.00bn	£26.83bn	£26.51bn	£25.78bn	£24.63bn
Alcohol duties	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Tobacco duties	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Vehicle excise duties	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Betting and gaming duties	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
TV licence fee	£4.26bn	£4.40bn	£4.41bn	£4.42bn	£4.43bn	£4.44bn	£4.45bn
Council tax	£49.21bn	£52.16bn	£54.89bn	£57.95bn	£61.16bn	£64.47bn	£67.91bn
High value council tax surcharge	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.48bn	£0.49bn	£0.50bn	£0.51bn
Northern Ireland domestic rates	£0.55bn	£0.58bn	£0.60bn	£0.63bn	£0.66bn	£0.69bn	£0.72bn
Business rates	£34.68bn	£36.20bn	£38.00bn	£39.46bn	£42.27bn	£43.25bn	£44.29bn
Stamp duty land tax on the household's own purchases	£6.88bn	£7.32bn	£7.66bn	£8.06bn	£8.47bn	£8.91bn	£9.35bn
Stamp duty land tax paid by companies	£4.72bn	£4.57bn	£5.29bn	£6.03bn	£6.37bn	£6.92bn	£7.45bn
Land transaction tax (Wales)	£0.07bn	£0.08bn	£0.08bn	£0.09bn	£0.10bn	£0.10bn	£0.11bn
Land and buildings transaction tax (Scotland)	£0.31bn	£0.32bn	£0.33bn	£0.35bn	£0.36bn	£0.38bn	£0.40bn
Unspecified tax change borne by capital	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Unspecified tax change borne by consumers	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Wealth tax	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Wealth tax excluding the main residence	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Land value tax	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Carbon tax	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn

Spending by benefit and service: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Lifetime ISA bonus	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
State Pension	£121.68bn	£125.92bn	£126.72bn	£129.49bn	£132.99bn	£136.66bn	£140.42bn
Pension Credit	£6.66bn	£7.03bn	£7.29bn	£7.48bn	£7.60bn	£7.84bn	£8.03bn
Winter Fuel Payment	£1.86bn	£1.85bn	£1.79bn	£1.77bn	£1.78bn	£1.78bn	£1.78bn
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (Scotland)	£0.19bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.21bn	£0.21bn	£0.22bn	£0.22bn
Universal Credit	£75.48bn	£80.52bn	£82.95bn	£84.96bn	£86.11bn	£87.61bn	£88.21bn
Housing Benefit	£8.56bn	£8.89bn	£9.23bn	£9.46bn	£9.69bn	£9.99bn	£10.27bn
Council Tax Reduction	£2.07bn	£2.20bn	£2.31bn	£2.45bn	£2.58bn	£2.72bn	£2.86bn
Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)	£0.79bn	£0.82bn	£0.84bn	£0.86bn	£0.88bn	£0.90bn	£0.92bn
Employment and Support Allowance (contribution-based)	£5.20bn	£5.37bn	£5.56bn	£5.69bn	£5.82bn	£5.95bn	£6.09bn
Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based)	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution-based)	£0.29bn	£0.30bn	£0.31bn	£0.31bn	£0.32bn	£0.33bn	£0.34bn
Income Support	£0.11bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Working Tax Credit	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Child Tax Credit	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Incapacity Benefit	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Personal Independence Payment	£26.95bn	£28.03bn	£29.05bn	£30.09bn	£30.75bn	£31.51bn	£32.21bn
Disability Living Allowance	£7.49bn	£7.79bn	£8.07bn	£8.36bn	£8.55bn	£8.76bn	£8.95bn
Attendance Allowance	£8.68bn	£9.03bn	£9.36bn	£9.69bn	£9.90bn	£10.15bn	£10.38bn
Carer's Allowance	£4.48bn	£4.66bn	£4.83bn	£5.00bn	£5.11bn	£5.27bn	£5.42bn
Carer Support Payment (Scotland)	£0.31bn	£0.32bn	£0.33bn	£0.34bn	£0.35bn	£0.36bn	£0.37bn
Carer's Allowance Supplement (Scotland)	£0.00bn	£0.04bn	£0.04bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn
Severe Disablement Allowance	£0.03bn	£0.03bn	£0.03bn	£0.03bn	£0.03bn	£0.03bn	£0.03bn
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit	£0.50bn	£0.52bn	£0.54bn	£0.55bn	£0.56bn	£0.58bn	£0.59bn
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme	£0.61bn	£0.63bn	£0.65bn	£0.66bn	£0.68bn	£0.69bn	£0.71bn
War Widow's or Widower's Pension	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Child Benefit	£16.19bn	£16.82bn	£17.39bn	£18.00bn	£18.39bn	£18.84bn	£19.25bn
Scottish Child Payment	£0.49bn	£0.52bn	£0.53bn	£0.55bn	£0.56bn	£0.57bn	£0.56bn
Two Child Limit Payment (Scotland, counterfactual)	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Healthy Start vouchers	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn	£0.05bn
Maternity Allowance	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Statutory Maternity Pay	£3.30bn	£3.41bn	£3.54bn	£3.62bn	£3.70bn	£3.78bn	£3.87bn
Statutory Paternity Pay	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Statutory Sick Pay	£1.12bn	£1.16bn	£1.20bn	£1.23bn	£1.26bn	£1.29bn	£1.32bn
Sure Start Maternity Grant	£0.01bn	£0.01bn	£0.01bn	£0.01bn	£0.01bn	£0.01bn	£0.01bn
Bereavement Support Payment	£0.67bn	£0.69bn	£0.71bn	£0.73bn	£0.75bn	£0.76bn	£0.78bn
Widowed Parent's Allowance	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Tax-Free Childcare	£0.56bn	£0.57bn	£0.57bn	£0.58bn	£0.60bn	£0.61bn	£0.59bn
Extended childcare entitlement	£2.99bn	£3.50bn	£3.59bn	£3.71bn	£3.78bn	£3.86bn	£3.93bn
Universal childcare entitlement	£2.06bn	£2.22bn	£2.29bn	£2.37bn	£2.43bn	£2.48bn	£2.53bn
Targeted childcare entitlement	£0.50bn	£0.51bn	£0.52bn	£0.54bn	£0.55bn	£0.57bn	£0.56bn
Childcare Offer for Wales	£0.26bn	£0.28bn	£0.28bn	£0.29bn	£0.30bn	£0.31bn	£0.32bn
Care to Learn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Childcare Grant	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Parents' Learning Allowance	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn	£0.20bn
Adult Dependants' Grant	£0.06bn	£0.06bn	£0.04bn	£0.04bn	£0.04bn	£0.04bn	£0.04bn
Travel Grant	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Disabled Students' Allowance	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed
16 to 19 Bursary Fund	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
NHS spending	£203.89bn	£204.30bn	£204.56bn	£204.91bn	£205.34bn	£205.85bn	£206.35bn
State education spending	£0.02bn	£0.02bn	£0.02bn	£0.02bn	£0.02bn	£0.02bn	£0.02bn
Transport subsidy spending	£25.05bn	£25.10bn	£25.14bn	£25.18bn	£25.23bn	£25.30bn	£25.36bn
Cost-of-living support payment	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Energy Bills Rebate	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Household Energy Payment	£0.00bn	£2.11bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Energy Price Guarantee subsidy	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Basic income	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Disability basic income	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn
Other public spending budget change	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn

Caseloads: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Lifetime ISA bonus	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
State Pension	11,264k	11,145k	10,819k	10,700k	10,723k	10,750k	10,776k
Pension Credit	1,486k	1,480k	1,472k	1,452k	1,450k	1,455k	1,464k
Winter Fuel Payment	7,844k	7,783k	7,473k	7,375k	7,391k	7,409k	7,427k
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (Scotland)	803k	802k	800k	797k	799k	801k	802k
Universal Credit	6,342k	6,347k	6,336k	6,297k	6,292k	6,271k	6,223k
Housing Benefit	1,249k	1,245k	1,244k	1,227k	1,227k	1,229k	1,232k
Council Tax Reduction	3,176k	3,195k	3,200k	3,214k	3,224k	3,235k	3,242k
Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)	71k	71k	71k	71k	71k	71k	71k
Employment and Support Allowance (contribution-based)	719k	720k	721k	722k	724k	726k	728k
Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based)	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution-based)	67k	67k	67k	67k	67k	68k	68k
Income Support	25k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Working Tax Credit	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Child Tax Credit	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Incapacity Benefit	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Personal Independence Payment	3,567k	3,575k	3,579k	3,585k	3,593k	3,602k	3,611k
Disability Living Allowance	1,291k	1,294k	1,296k	1,298k	1,300k	1,304k	1,307k
Attendance Allowance	1,695k	1,698k	1,700k	1,703k	1,707k	1,711k	1,715k
Carer's Allowance	1,034k	1,037k	1,038k	1,040k	1,042k	1,060k	1,062k
Carer Support Payment (Scotland)	71k	71k	71k	72k	72k	72k	72k
Carer's Allowance Supplement (Scotland)	0k	71k	71k	72k	72k	72k	72k
Severe Disablement Allowance	4k	4k	4k	4k	4k	4k	4k
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit	137k	137k	137k	138k	138k	138k	139k
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme	93k	93k	94k	94k	94k	94k	94k
War Widow's or Widower's Pension	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Child Benefit	8,123k	8,120k	8,120k	8,130k	8,145k	8,161k	8,178k
Scottish Child Payment	351k	352k	352k	353k	350k	348k	337k
Two Child Limit Payment (Scotland, counterfactual)	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Healthy Start vouchers	200k	200k	200k	201k	201k	201k	202k
Maternity Allowance	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Statutory Maternity Pay	333k	333k	334k	334k	335k	336k	337k
Statutory Paternity Pay	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Statutory Sick Pay	181k	182k	182k	182k	182k	183k	183k
Sure Start Maternity Grant	26k	26k	26k	26k	26k	26k	26k
Bereavement Support Payment	98k	98k	98k	98k	98k	99k	99k
Widowed Parent's Allowance	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Tax-Free Childcare	1,043k	1,027k	1,014k	1,009k	1,011k	1,009k	993k
Extended childcare entitlement	795k	800k	796k	797k	798k	798k	792k
Universal childcare entitlement	1,071k	1,072k	1,072k	1,073k	1,076k	1,079k	1,074k
Targeted childcare entitlement	165k	156k	154k	154k	155k	155k	150k
Childcare Offer for Wales	39k	39k	39k	39k	39k	39k	39k
Care to Learn	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Childcare Grant	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Parents' Learning Allowance	98k	98k	98k	99k	99k	99k	99k
Adult Dependants' Grant	18k	18k	12k	12k	12k	12k	12k
Travel Grant	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Disabled Students' Allowance	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed	suppressed
16 to 19 Bursary Fund	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Cost-of-living support payment	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Energy Bills Rebate	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Household Energy Payment	0k	21,065k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Energy Price Guarantee subsidy	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Basic income	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k
Disability basic income	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k	0k

Government balance, each component counted once: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Government receipts, each component once	£892.00bn	£934.66bn	£980.50bn	£1,015.93bn	£1,054.24bn	£1,091.56bn	£1,124.89bn
Government spending	£529.38bn †	£545.66bn †	£550.77bn †	£559.51bn †	£567.20bn †	£575.95bn †	£583.60bn †
Government balance, each receipt once	£362.62bn †	£389.00bn †	£429.74bn †	£456.42bn †	£487.04bn †	£515.61bn †	£541.29bn †
Benefits in household_benefits but not in gov_spending	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn	£0.00bn

Model totals: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
gov_tax	£892.00bn	£934.66bn	£980.50bn	£1,015.93bn	£1,054.24bn	£1,091.56bn	£1,124.89bn
household_tax	£491.97bn	£520.41bn	£551.21bn	£576.01bn	£601.00bn	£626.70bn	£648.42bn
pre_budget_change_household_tax	£484.15bn	£512.28bn	£542.82bn	£566.95bn	£591.72bn	£617.16bn	£638.61bn
gov_spending	£529.38bn †	£545.66bn †	£550.77bn †	£559.51bn †	£567.20bn †	£575.95bn †	£583.60bn †
household_benefits	£529.38bn †	£545.66bn †	£550.77bn †	£559.51bn †	£567.20bn †	£575.95bn †	£583.60bn †
gov_balance	£362.62bn †	£389.00bn †	£429.74bn †	£456.42bn †	£487.04bn †	£515.61bn †	£541.29bn †

Household income totals: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Household market income	£1,637.96bn	£1,702.77bn	£1,757.35bn	£1,806.41bn	£1,855.97bn	£1,912.43bn	£1,970.44bn
Household net income	£1,636.69bn †	£1,687.82bn †	£1,715.45bn †	£1,747.49bn †	£1,778.69bn †	£1,817.02bn †	£1,859.69bn †
Household net income (HBAI definition)	£1,449.57bn	£1,499.83bn	£1,530.86bn	£1,565.17bn	£1,597.89bn	£1,635.60bn	£1,676.61bn

Population: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
People	69,245k	69,383k	69,473k	69,592k	69,738k	69,912k	70,080k
Benefit units	35,110k	35,181k	35,226k	35,286k	35,360k	35,449k	35,534k
Households	31,046k	31,108k	31,149k	31,201k	31,267k	31,345k	31,420k

Poverty rates: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: everyone	16.3%	15.5%	16.4%	16.3%	16.5%	16.5%	16.6%
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: children	24.7%	22.1%	23.3%	22.9%	23.1%	23.2%	23.5%
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: working-age adults	14.1%	13.8%	14.7%	14.7%	14.8%	14.8%	15.0%
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: pensioners	13.7%	13.4%	14.0%	13.8%	13.9%	13.9%	13.9%
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: everyone	21.6%	21.0%	22.0%	22.6%	22.9%	23.1%	23.4%
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: children	33.3%	31.3%	32.3%	32.5%	32.9%	33.4%	34.2%
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: working-age adults	19.9%	19.8%	20.8%	21.6%	21.9%	22.0%	22.3%
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: pensioners	12.7%	12.4%	13.2%	13.2%	13.3%	13.4%	13.6%
Relative poverty, before housing costs: everyone	17.0%	16.0%	16.4%	16.3%	16.4%	16.3%	16.6%
Relative poverty, before housing costs: children	25.9%	22.9%	23.3%	22.9%	23.0%	22.9%	23.5%
Relative poverty, before housing costs: working-age adults	14.5%	14.1%	14.6%	14.7%	14.7%	14.7%	15.0%
Relative poverty, before housing costs: pensioners	14.5%	14.0%	13.9%	13.8%	13.8%	13.9%	13.9%
Relative poverty, after housing costs: everyone	21.4%	21.0%	21.3%	21.3%	21.3%	21.5%	21.7%
Relative poverty, after housing costs: children	33.1%	31.1%	31.2%	31.0%	31.1%	31.2%	31.8%
Relative poverty, after housing costs: working-age adults	19.9%	19.8%	20.2%	20.4%	20.5%	20.6%	20.8%
Relative poverty, after housing costs: pensioners	12.5%	12.4%	12.2%	11.7%	11.7%	11.8%	12.0%

People in poverty: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: everyone	11,278k	10,779k	11,402k	11,365k	11,476k	11,513k	11,651k
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: children	3,688k	3,314k	3,496k	3,445k	3,480k	3,502k	3,549k
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: working-age adults	5,965k	5,893k	6,308k	6,362k	6,420k	6,430k	6,521k
Absolute poverty, before housing costs: pensioners	1,624k	1,572k	1,598k	1,558k	1,576k	1,580k	1,581k
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: everyone	14,944k	14,600k	15,310k	15,721k	15,937k	16,141k	16,426k
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: children	4,975k	4,682k	4,837k	4,888k	4,945k	5,040k	5,179k
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: working-age adults	8,463k	8,461k	8,971k	9,344k	9,491k	9,584k	9,706k
Absolute poverty, after housing costs: pensioners	1,506k	1,457k	1,502k	1,490k	1,501k	1,517k	1,542k
Relative poverty, before housing costs: everyone	11,750k	11,084k	11,388k	11,364k	11,416k	11,415k	11,651k
Relative poverty, before housing costs: children	3,872k	3,423k	3,496k	3,445k	3,466k	3,454k	3,549k
Relative poverty, before housing costs: working-age adults	6,159k	6,013k	6,301k	6,362k	6,389k	6,389k	6,521k
Relative poverty, before housing costs: pensioners	1,720k	1,648k	1,590k	1,557k	1,562k	1,572k	1,581k
Relative poverty, after housing costs: everyone	14,849k	14,552k	14,776k	14,809k	14,874k	15,014k	15,234k
Relative poverty, after housing costs: children	4,942k	4,660k	4,673k	4,663k	4,679k	4,707k	4,806k
Relative poverty, after housing costs: working-age adults	8,426k	8,440k	8,711k	8,823k	8,873k	8,967k	9,062k
Relative poverty, after housing costs: pensioners	1,482k	1,452k	1,392k	1,323k	1,322k	1,339k	1,365k

Inequality: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Gini coefficient, equivalised HBAI income before housing costs	0.3080	0.3052	0.3058	0.3058	0.3063	0.3069	0.3085

Mean household net income in each side's own deciles: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Decile 1: mean household_net_income per household	£17,681 †	£17,997 †	£17,915 †	£18,152 †	£18,307 †	£18,531 †	£18,717 †
Decile 2: mean household_net_income per household	£27,939 †	£29,023 †	£28,711 †	£29,013 †	£29,276 †	£29,691 †	£30,150 †
Decile 3: mean household_net_income per household	£34,320 †	£35,485 †	£36,073 †	£36,611 †	£37,197 †	£37,737 †	£38,187 †
Decile 4: mean household_net_income per household	£38,933 †	£40,687 †	£41,723 †	£42,727 †	£43,334 †	£44,132 †	£44,432 †
Decile 5: mean household_net_income per household	£43,239 †	£45,567 †	£46,014 †	£46,959 †	£47,712 †	£48,584 †	£50,282 †
Decile 6: mean household_net_income per household	£47,927 †	£49,210 †	£50,892 †	£51,939 †	£52,945 †	£53,942 †	£54,680 †
Decile 7: mean household_net_income per household	£55,662 †	£56,571 †	£57,442 †	£57,670 †	£58,729 †	£59,657 †	£61,082 †
Decile 8: mean household_net_income per household	£68,789 †	£70,803 †	£71,858 †	£73,466 †	£73,880 †	£75,320 †	£77,178 †
Decile 9: mean household_net_income per household	£78,890 †	£81,013 †	£80,861 †	£82,646 †	£85,464 †	£86,946 †	£89,509 †
Decile 10: mean household_net_income per household	£117,005 †	£120,339 †	£124,742 †	£126,632 †	£125,971 †	£128,600 †	£130,938 †

Standard reform costings (change in gov_balance): head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Raise basic rate by 1pp	£6.41bn	£6.66bn	£6.63bn	£6.85bn	£7.03bn	£7.25bn	£7.49bn
Raise higher rate by 1pp	£3.61bn	£3.87bn	£4.00bn	£4.22bn	£4.44bn	£4.71bn	£4.83bn
Raise personal allowance by ~800GBP/year	£-3.80bn	£-3.92bn	£-3.98bn	£-4.04bn	£-4.10bn	£-4.23bn	£-1.95bn
Raise child benefit by 25GBP/week per additional child	£-1.99bn	£-1.75bn	£-1.55bn	£-1.38bn	£-1.30bn	£-1.18bn	£-1.07bn
Reduce Universal Credit taper rate to 20%	£-20.77bn	£-21.32bn	£-21.75bn	£-21.99bn	£-22.34bn	£-22.75bn	£-22.94bn
Raise Class 1 main employee NICs rate to 10%	£10.89bn	£11.30bn	£11.71bn	£12.01bn	£12.31bn	suppressed	suppressed
Raise VAT standard rate by 2pp	£24.89bn	£25.71bn	£26.63bn	£27.24bn	£27.87bn	£28.50bn	£29.14bn
Raise additional rate by 3pp	£2.90bn	£3.15bn	£3.22bn	£3.41bn	£3.61bn	suppressed	suppressed
Raise the Universal Credit standard allowance by 10%	£-3.06bn	£-3.18bn	£-3.26bn	£-3.35bn	£-3.44bn	£-3.49bn	£-3.50bn
Raise the State Pension by 10%	£-7.78bn	£-8.01bn	£-8.24bn	£-8.47bn	£-8.82bn	£-8.55bn	£-8.89bn

Standard reforms: change in each reform's target: head levels

Measure (head)	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32
Raise basic rate by 1pp: change in income_tax	£6.55bn	£6.86bn	£6.79bn	£7.00bn	£7.20bn	£7.44bn	£7.66bn
Raise higher rate by 1pp: change in income_tax	£3.61bn	£3.92bn	£4.01bn	£4.23bn	£4.45bn	£4.72bn	£4.84bn
Raise personal allowance by ~800GBP/year: change in income_tax	£-3.93bn	£-4.07bn	£-4.13bn	£-4.18bn	£-4.22bn	£-4.40bn	£-1.75bn
Raise child benefit by 25GBP/week per additional child: change in child_benefit	£2.33bn	£2.14bn	£1.94bn	£1.76bn	£1.65bn	£1.52bn	£1.40bn
Reduce Universal Credit taper rate to 20%: change in universal_credit	£20.74bn	£21.31bn	£21.78bn	£22.04bn	£22.37bn	£22.78bn	£22.99bn
Raise Class 1 main employee NICs rate to 10%: change in national_insurance	£11.15bn	£11.63bn	£12.00bn	£12.29bn	£12.61bn	suppressed	suppressed
Raise VAT standard rate by 2pp: change in vat	£24.69bn	£25.51bn	£26.42bn	£27.03bn	£27.65bn	£28.28bn	£28.91bn
Raise additional rate by 3pp: change in income_tax	£2.90bn	£3.15bn	£3.22bn	£3.42bn	£3.62bn	suppressed	suppressed
Raise the Universal Credit standard allowance by 10%: change in universal_credit	£3.06bn	£3.19bn	£3.28bn	£3.37bn	£3.43bn	£3.49bn	£3.51bn
Raise the State Pension by 10%: change in state_pension	£10.68bn	£11.17bn	£11.28bn	£11.60bn	£12.03bn	£12.47bn	£12.97bn

[juaristi22]

Reviewed dd39eafbb76982ec87020b96217a66f5b1ee0225. COMPLETE: no findings or material evidence gaps for this change.

The four council schemes count the UC award/entitlement. UC regulation 81 reduces that award for the benefit cap, whereas Claims and Payments Schedule 6, advance recovery regulation 10 and overpayment recovery regulation 10 distinguish recovery from the sum payable. Adding back only actual debt deductions preserves the cap reduction already applied.

I independently checked Merton, Kingston and Newham's current paragraph 37 and Westminster's official 2026/27 summary. The Westminster conclusion is limited to its explicit award comparison; it does not certify the full unpublished scheme or resolve unrelated eligibility questions.

Validation: 348 passed, zero failures/skips, including all 346 CTR YAML cases, the new property and a native diagnostic covering 16 households through final CTR and household net income. Actual cap and protected-floor paths passed separately. Latest current-head required checks pass; the older cancelled duplicate is superseded by a successful same-name run.

The Axiom #521 queue contract, companion cases, corpus/approval blocker and disclosed annual debt-rounding approximation are recorded correctly. Encoded parity has not been run.

The PR remains a draft, so I am posting the completed assessment as a comment. Approval can follow once it is ready, subject to a fresh head/activity/CI check.

[MaxGhenis]

I marked this ready at the head you reviewed, dd39eafbb, where every required check passes.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[juaristi22]

Rechecked dd39eafbb76982ec87020b96217a66f5b1ee0225 after it was marked ready. COMPLETE; no findings or material gaps.

The head and actual description are unchanged from my completed review. The prior 348 passing checks, including final CTR/household-income diagnostics and separate actual-cap/protected-floor cases, remain applicable; no tests were rerun. The source cache and queued Axiom evidence were revalidated, and current-head required checks pass.

The previous scope qualifications remain: Westminster evidence establishes the narrow award comparison, and the disclosed annual debt-rounding convention is unchanged. Approving this head.