Official Statistics

Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 8 July 2021

Published 17 August 2021

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

The latest release of these statistics can be found in the collection of Universal Credit statistics.

This bulletin contains statistics on claims made, starts, people on Universal Credit and households including payments for Universal Credit for England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain).

Notices

Users are advised that data relating to Removal of Spare Room Subsidy, Local Housing Allowance and Broad Rental Market Area will be available on Stat-Xplore at 9.30am on 26 August 2021. Until they are available on Stat-Xplore, they are available as tables in ODS format on GOV.UK. This is due to late availability of the data.

Users are advised of the following changes from this release:

  • new statistics on children in Universal Credit households
  • methodology change to family types for data from April 2019
  • geography data for People on Universal Credit and Households on Universal Credit may be out of date

More information on each of these changes is provided in the About these statistics section.

New measures

Users are invited to comment on our intention to publish new statistics on bedroom entitlement. These will be part of the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy statistics in Households on Universal Credit from November 2021.

Intention to withdraw measures in the claims and starts series

We are seeking views from users on our intention to withdraw the following measures.

Claims made by day

Statistics on claims are currently available by week and by day. It is intended to stop publishing the daily time series for claims. Instead, time periods will be available by month and by week. Months will represent the period between count dates as they currently do for starts. This is to make the claims series more consistent with other series in Universal Credit statistics.

Individuals counts for claims and starts

Claims and starts have two counts available: total and individuals. The individuals measure has been temporarily withdrawn due to technical issues on producing this measure on Stat-Xplore. As Universal Credit statistics counts all claims made by an individual within a 30-day period as 1 claim, there is no difference between individuals and totals in the monthly time periods available on Stat-Xplore for claims and starts. It is intended to permanently withdraw this measure.

If the withdrawal of either of these measures would affect you, please inform us of your use of these measures by 28 September 2021.

1. Main Stories

2. What you need to know

Universal Credit statistics cover 4 series:

  • Claims: the number of people who have made a new claim for Universal Credit. Not all new claims go on to “start” on Universal Credit.
  • Starts: the number of people who verify their ID and accept their claimant commitment in the period of the statistics.
  • People: the number of people claiming Universal Credit who have verified their ID and have accepted their claimant commitment on the 2nd Thursday of the month.
  • Households: the number of households who have a calculated entitlement for Universal Credit for the monthly assessment period active on the count date (2nd Thursday of the month). The commentary for households in this bulletin focuses mostly on households who are “in payment” which is defined as households with a monthly award or advance payment of more than £0.

Further guidance on these statistics is provided in the About these statistics section of this bulletin and the background information and methodology document. Information on the timeliness of the statistics is provided in the background quality report.

Interactive tools

Alternative ways to view these statistics are available:

Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an impact on these statistics. Operational and policy changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic have affected the time series for Universal Credit statistics. Therefore, we do not recommend making comparisons with trends before the coronavirus pandemic to during it.

The background information and methodology document explains the changes made and how they affect these statistics.

Experimental statistics

Universal Credit statistics are official statistics that are experimental. This is due to the ongoing development of the data systems that are used to support Universal Credit.

3. Claims made to Universal Credit

Making a claim is the first step an individual will need to do to receive Universal Credit.

There was an average of 42,000 claims per week made to Universal Credit in the 4 weeks to 8 July 2021.

Fewer new claims made than before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Claims made (weekly), Universal Credit, Great Britain, 7 July 2016 to 8 July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Claims on Universal Credit, weekly

In the 4 weeks leading up to 8 July 2021 there were an average of 42,000 claims made to Universal Credit. This is an increase of 8% compared to an average of 39,000 claims in the 4 weeks leading up to 10 June 2021. There was a gradual decline in the number of claims made to Universal Credit over the first 4 months of 2021. Since April 2021, the number of claims made each week has been relatively stable at an average of around 39,000.

There were over 10 times the usual number of claims made to Universal Credit at the beginning of the first national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over 550,000 claims for Universal Credit were made in each week ending 26 March and 2 April 2020. For the 52 weeks before the lockdown there was an average of 54,000 claims per week.

Not all claims that are made will go on to start on Universal Credit. This can be because, for example, the circumstances of some people who have made a claim may change before they start on Universal Credit, and they may close their claim before starting.

4. Starts to Universal Credit

Following making a claim, a claimant is counted as starting on Universal Credit statistics when they have agreed their commitment requirements and had their identity verified among other criteria. For the full definition of what is regarded as a start on Universal Credit refer to the background and methodology document.

There have been 130,000 people starting on Universal Credit in the 4 weeks to 8 July 2021.

Lowest level of starts this quarter since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Starts on Universal Credit (monthly), Great Britain, July 2016 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Starts on Universal Credit, month

There were 130,000 starts to Universal Credit in the 4 weeks to 8 July 2021. This is a 7% increase on the 120,000 starts in the 4 weeks to 10 June 2021.

The UK government made a number of changes to Universal Credit to support people through the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. These changes, together with the changes in people’s circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, coincided with a large increase to the number of starts to Universal Credit between 13 March 2020 and 14 May 2020. In total between these dates there were 2.4 million starts to Universal Credit. This contributes to a total of 5.3 million claims for Universal Credit having started between 13 March 2020 and 8 July 2021.

More women starting on Universal Credit, a return to trend before the coronavirus pandemic

Starts on Universal Credit by gender, Great Britain, July 2016 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Starts on Universal Credit, gender by month

Over the quarter (9 April 2021 to 8 July 2021), there have been more women than men starting on Universal Credit each month. In May 2021, women made up 51% of people starting on Universal credit and 52% in June and July 2021. This trend could also be seen prior to the coronavirus pandemic. During periods of national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were more men starting on Universal credit. The peaks of these periods were in the four weeks to 11 February 2021 (53%) and the five weeks to 14 May 2020 (58%).

5. People on Universal Credit

People on Universal Credit counts the number of people with an open claim on the count date who had accepted a claimant commitment and verified their identity. Not every person on Universal Credit on the count date will go on to receive a calculated entitlement or payment for the assessment period.

There were 5.9 million people on Universal Credit on 8 July 2021.

Number of people on Universal Credit peaked at 6.0 million in March 2021

People on Universal Credit, Great Britain, July 2016 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, month

The number of people on Universal Credit was 5.9 million on 8 July 2021. This is 0.6% (34,000) lower than on 8 April 2021. The figure for 8 July 2021 is provisional.

The number of people on Universal Credit on a count date peaked at 6.0 million on 11 March 2021. Since then, there was a gradual fall of 1.4% (83,000) in the number of people on Universal Credit between March and June 2021.

When revised next month, the provisional figure for July 2021 is expected to be within 2% of the revised figure. This is within a range that could continue the gradual fall of people on Universal Credit since March 2021. The size of revisions of the overall total of people on Universal Credit for the 12 previous months is shown in the background information and methodology document.

The number of people on Universal Credit doubled to 6.0 million on 11 March 2021 from 3.0 million on 12 March 2020, the last count date before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This increase occurred as restrictions to the economy and society were introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

To support households through the coronavirus pandemic, policy and operational changes were made to Universal Credit. Details of how these changes could have affected these statistics are in the background information and methodology document.

53% of people on Universal Credit are women

People on Universal Credit by gender, Great Britain, July 2016 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, gender by month

Women account for 53% of people on Universal Credit on 8 July 2021.

During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic more men than women were coming on to Universal Credit. The proportion of people on Universal Credit that were men increased to 49% in May 2020 from 44% in March 2020.

From the introduction of Universal Credit up until June 2018, men on Universal Credit outnumbered women on the benefit. Since June 2018, this has changed to women outnumbering men. This change is explained by Universal Credit being only available to working age individuals with no children and who were seeking employment in the initial introduction of Universal Credit. This group of people are those that would have claimed income related Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is a benefit that has been typically claimed by men more than women (source: Stat-Xplore).

The broadening of Universal Credit to the people who would have claimed the other legacy benefits has led to more women than men claiming Universal Credit. These benefits, which include Income Support and Child Tax Credit, tended to have been claimed by women.

Age distribution has shifted towards middle and older age groups between July 2020 and July 2021

People on Universal Credit by age group, Great Britain, July 2020 compared to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, age by month

There has been an upward shift in the age distribution of Universal Credit claimants in the 12 months up to July 2021. The proportion of claimants aged 16 to 29 has fallen to 30% on 8 July 2021 from 32% on 9 July 2020. The middle and older age groups increased or remained broadly unchanged.

Number of people on the ‘Searching for work’ conditionality regime is down by 280,000 since April 2021

Claimants are required to do certain work-related activities to receive Universal Credit. These activities are determined by which of the 6 conditionality regimes the claimant is placed in. The conditionality regime also determines the level of contact with the claimant, and the support that they will receive.

Conditionality regime is used in Universal Credit statistics instead of the terms ‘conditionality group’ and ‘labour market regime’. To help users understand the different regimes more easily, this bulletin uses different terms to the official terms for the labour market regimes. The definitions section of this bulletin provides more information on the different conditionality regimes, and their associated conditionality groups and labour market regimes.

Different members of the same household may be subject to the same or different requirements. As circumstances change claimants will also transition between different levels of conditionality. This means that there is a ‘flow’ of claimants between these groups. The number of claimants in each group is constantly changing in our published statistics, month to month.

Conditionality regime (number of people), Universal Credit, Great Britain, July 2016 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, conditionality regime by month

The number of people on Universal Credit who were not working or on low earnings and required to search for work as a condition of their claim (‘searching for work’) has fallen by 280,000 to 2.1 million (35% of all people on Universal Credit) in July 2021 from 2.3 million (39% of all people on Universal Credit) in April 2021.

Over the same period, the number of people on Universal Credit whose circumstances mean they have no requirements to work (‘no work requirements’) has risen by 95,000 to 1.3 million (22% of all people on Universal Credit) in July 2021 from 1.2 million (20% of all people on Universal Credit) in April 2021.

The number of people on Universal Credit who were working and earning enough not to have any work-related requirements as a condition of their claim (‘working – no requirements’) has risen by 150,000 to 1.2 million (21% of all people on Universal Credit) in July 2021 from 1.1 million (18% of all people on Universal Credit) in April 2021.

These changes have occurred as the restrictions on the economy from the coronavirus pandemic have eased. As people in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime return to work or a full wage, they will either stop claiming Universal Credit or move into a different conditionality regime such as ‘Working - No work requirements’.

Conditionality regime (proportion), Universal Credit, Great Britain, July 2017 to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, conditionality regime by month

The proportions of people on Universal Credit on each of the conditionality regimes has changed because of the new claimants to Universal Credit during the initial period of the coronavirus pandemic.

Until the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime was on a long-term downward trend. It fell from 62% in October 2016 to 36% in March 2020. This was because Universal Credit was initially only offered to jobseekers. As the benefit broadened to other eligible groups, and more people transferred from legacy benefits, the share of people in ‘searching for work’ has fallen.

The conditionality regime measures which regime an individual is in on the count date. This may not be representative of their entire assessment period. Conditionality regime figures are not the same as the employment measures, which show whether an individual has had earnings during their assessment period. The two measures should only be used together with caution. The background information and methodology document provides more information on this.

Employment rate has steadily increased since June 2020

Universal Credit is available to people who are in work and on a low income, as well as to those who are out of work. Most claimants on low incomes will still be paid Universal Credit when they start a new job or increase their hours.

Universal Credit statistics measure employment as receiving employee earnings during the assessment period which is active on the count date.

As earnings for this period can be received up to one month after the count date, this data is not available for processing at the time that other data for people on Universal Credit is available. The later availability of this data means that statistics on employment for people on Universal Credit are published a month later than other statistics for people on Universal Credit.

People on Universal Credit in employment, Great Britain, June 2016 to June 2021

Note: (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the complete data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, employment indicator by month

The composition of Universal Credit claimants has changed since June 2020. There is now a higher proportion of people on Universal Credit being recorded as in employment. This is because of policy and operational changes, due to the coronavirus pandemic, that have allowed people with higher earnings than previously to be eligible for Universal Credit.

The employment rate has increased for all people on Universal Credit to 40% (2.3 million) on 10 June 2021 from 36% (2.0 million) on 11 June 2020.

The increase in the employment rate, and that it is higher than the rate before the coronavirus pandemic, should not be interpreted as more employment. It should be considered in the context of the policy changes to Universal Credit to support people through the coronavirus pandemic.

Not all people in ‘searching for work’ conditionality are unemployed

People on Universal Credit, employment rate by conditionality regime, Great Britain, June 2020 to June 2021

Note: See Stat-Xplore for the complete data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, employment indicator by conditionality regime and month

A claimant’s conditionality regime may not be apparent from their employment status as there are differences between how conditionality regime and employment status are measured.

The conditionality regime is a measure of the regime the claimant is on the count date whereas employment status measures whether a claimant has received any employee earnings during the assessment period that covers the count date. For this reason, a claimant may not necessarily be in employment on the count date.

In the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime, 87% of claimants received no earnings and are recorded as not in employment for the assessment period covering 11 June 2021. Typically, around 85% of claimants received no earnings and were recorded as not in employment in the months before the coronavirus pandemic.

This means that 13% are recorded as having received earnings and being in employment. These claimants will include those who are in work with earnings below the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET). The AET for April 2021 to March 2022 is £345 per month for an individual, and £552 per month for a household.

In the ‘working – no requirements’ regime there are 85% of claimants in employment. There are 15% of claimants who are recorded as not having received earnings and not in employment. These include claimants who are not in work, but who are in a household with earnings above the household Conditionality Earnings Threshold (CET). The CET is the amount of the National Minimum Wage for the claimant’s expected hours of work.

In a couple household, if one of the adults is earning above the household CET, then the claimant is placed in the ‘working – no requirements’ regime regardless of the individual employment status. The household CET is a combination of both adults individual CETs.

The number of people on Universal Credit has increased for all regions since July 2020

Percentage increase of people on Universal Credit by region, Great Britain, July 2020 to July 2021

Region %
London 14.0
West Midlands 9.4
East Midlands 8.0
Yorkshire and The Humber 8.0
North West 7.0
East of England 5.9
North East 5.8
Wales 5.8
South East 5.6
Scotland 3.1
South West 2.1

Note: See Stat-Xplore for the complete data series.

Source: DWP Universal Credit statistics.

There have been small regional disparities in the growth of the number of people on Universal Credit during the last year. London (14%) has seen the largest growth between 9 July 2020 and 8 July 2021.

Over the same period, the South West has seen the smallest growth with a 2.1% increase in the number of people on Universal Credit.

Claimants from London and the North West make up a greater proportion of people on Universal Credit

People on Universal Credit by region, Great Britain, July 2020 compared to July 2021

Note: (p) provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit, region by month

There is an increase in the percentage of people on Universal Credit that live in London and West Midlands compared with last year.

There were 17.1% of people on Universal Credit that live in London in July 2021, an increase from 16.1% in July 2020. The West Midlands has increased to 9.9% of people on Universal Credit in July 2021 from 9.7% in July 2020 respectively.

Other regions have either fallen or had no change as a percentage of people on Universal Credit over the past year.

For more regional and local level information see the map for claimants on Universal Credit at Jobcentre Plus office level.

6. Households on Universal Credit

In Universal Credit statistics a household is a single person or couple living together with or without dependent children. This is sometimes referred to as a benefit unit in other statistics. To be counted in the ‘households on Universal Credit’ series, a household needs to have had their entitlement calculated for the assessment period covering the count date.

Statistics for ‘households on Universal Credit’ are produced 3 months in arrears. For more information and the timeliness of these statistics, refer to the background information and methodology document.

There were 5.0 million households on Universal Credit in May 2021. This is a decrease of 0.1 million since February 2021.

Of these households, 85% (4.2 million) received a payment.

Total households on Universal Credit by in payment and not in payment, Great Britain, May 2017 to May 2021

Note: (p) provisional. (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes)

There were 5.0 million households on Universal Credit for assessment periods covering 13 May 2021. This is 69,000 fewer households than in February 2021. In May 2020, there were 4.2 million households on Universal Credit.

Proportion of households in payment fell to 85% in May 2021

Households on Universal Credit are categorised as either in payment or not in payment. There were 4.2 million households in payment in May 2021, around 130,000 fewer households compared to February 2021. The proportion of households on Universal Credit in payment has fallen to 85% in May 2021 from 87% in February 2021.

During April and May 2021, restrictions on the economy due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were gradually eased. In March 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic, 94% of households on Universal Credit were receiving a payment. Operational changes made during the coronavirus pandemic kept claims not in payment open longer.

Households on Universal Credit in payment, Great Britain, May 2017 to May 2021

Note: (p) provisional. (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes)

There are several reasons why a household may not be in receipt of a payment. For example, when someone moves into work and their level of earnings means that they no longer receive a payment.

Claims are normally considered to be closed if the household earnings reduce their award to £0. However, there is a temporary process change during the coronavirus pandemic where claims are kept open for up to 6 assessment periods of a £0 award. This means there have been more open claims with a £0 award.

In addition, households would have claimed Universal Credit at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic before other support measures were announced. As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and other support measures were announced and came into effect, their earnings may not have fallen as much as the claimant expected when they had made their claim. Consequently, their award was tapered down to £0 because of their earnings.

The average (mean) Universal Credit payment is higher than in May 2020

The amount of Universal Credit a household receives is based on the standard Universal Credit allowance plus additional entitlements that they are eligible for.

Above these entitlements households may also receive additional payments, for example a loan advance or mortgage interest payment.

A payment to a household may be lower than their entitlement. For example, where a household is being sanctioned, limited by the benefit cap or earning above the threshold and the payment is reduced by the taper.

Average (mean) Universal Credit payment for in payment households, Great Britain, May 2017 to May 2021

Note: (p) provisional. (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes), measures (payment amount mean)

The average (mean) amount of Universal Credit paid to households on Universal Credit was £790 per month in May 2021. This is an increase of £10 from £780 in May 2020.

The slight increases in the average Universal Credit award since April 2021 coincide with changes to the advances repayment policy and the cap on total monthly deductions. From 12 April 2021, new advance payments may now be repaid over 24 months rather than 12 months. Together with the reduction of the cap on total monthly reductions from 30% to 25%, this has resulted in smaller deductions to Universal Credit payments.

The higher average payment of Universal Credit since March 2020 is due to annual uprating of Universal Credit entitlements. It is also due to a temporary £1,040 a year increase (£20 a week) to the standard allowance from April 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This temporary increase to the standard allowance has been extended and continues to be included in Universal Credit awards.

There was a spike in the average payment for assessment periods covering 9 April 2020, with the average payment of £840. Management information shows that there was an increase in the number of advances being paid in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Additionally, some payments would have increased from a suspension of the recovery of debts for benefit overpayments, Social Fund loans and third-party debts. The recovery of these debts was suspended until early May 2020, when recoveries were gradually reintroduced.

Requirements for work search and work availability were suspended from 30 March 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. These requirements have been gradually reintroduced from 1 July 2020. This suspension led to fewer reductions from sanctions than normal, increasing the average payment amount.

The average (mean) payment is affected by large payments. In May 2021, 8% of households where Universal Credit is in payment were paid more than £1,500. The average (mean) payment is increased by these large payments, which are mostly caused by households receiving payments in addition to their standard entitlements.

The median is less affected by large payments. In May 2021, the median payment (£720) was lower than the average (mean) payment of £790.

Average (mean) payment is influenced by the number of high payments

In payment households by payment band and family type, Great Britain, May 2021

Note: figures are provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes), measures (payment amount mean), Monthly award amount (bands)

More households received a payment in the £300.01 to £400 payment band than any other payment band. In this payment band, 88% of households were ‘single, no children’. In contrast, in the over £1,500 payment band, 93% were households with children.

For regional data, refer to the household dashboard and household maps at region and local authority level.

Over half of households in payment are single without children

In payment households by family type, Great Britain, May 2017 to May 2021

Note: (p) provisional. (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series. A methodology change has affected this time series. Before April 2019, families with children are determined by whether the household is awarded a child entitlement. From, and including, April 2019 families with children are determined by a child or young person under 20 that has been verified as living in the household.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes), family type

Households without children accounted for around 56% of households on Universal Credit in payment in May 2021. This is 2 percentage points lower than in May 2020.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic there was a long-term upward trend for the proportion of households with children on Universal Credit claims in payment. This was due to Universal Credit replacing legacy benefits and tax credits for new claims. Migration from legacy benefits and tax credits due to a change in circumstances also contributed to this trend.

Majority of households on Universal Credit with children have two or fewer children

Number of children in households on Universal Credit receiving a payment, Great Britain, May 2021

Number of Children Number of households
1 child 830,000
2 children 660,000
3 children 260,000
4 children 83,000
5 or more children 33,000

Note: provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes), total children

Of the households in payment with children, four in five (80%) had 2 children or fewer in May 2021. Households with one child was the largest single proportion at 45%. These are both slight decreases compared to May 2020, when 81% of households in payment had 2 children or fewer and the largest single proportion being one child at 46%.

Age of youngest child in households on Universal Credit receiving a payment, Great Britain, May 2021

Age of Youngest Child Number of households
0 to 4 years 850,000
5 to 10 years 570,000
11 to 15 years 290,000
16 to 19 years 160,000

Note: provisional. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, payment indicator (yes), age of youngest child

The age of the youngest child in the household was under 5 years old for nearly half (46%) of all Universal Credit households in payment with children in May 2021. This compares with 47% in May 2020. For May 2021, over nine in ten children (92%) were under the age of 16 in Universal Credit households in payment and this was broadly similar (92%) in May 2020.

A higher proportion of households in payment receive additional entitlements compared to May 2020

Entitlements for in payment Households, Great Britain, May 2017 to May 2021

Note: (p) provisional. (r) revised. See Stat-Xplore for the full data series.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, Entitlements

There are a range of additional entitlements in Universal Credit payments for children, health and disabilities, housing, and carers.

The proportion of Universal Credit payments with each of these entitlements decreased because of an increase in claimants from the coronavirus pandemic. This suggests a greater proportion of new claimants were not claiming additional entitlements. Previously, the proportion of claimants with additional entitlements was on an increasing trend as Universal Credit gradually replaced legacy benefits for new claims.

Support for rental housing costs (housing entitlement) was included in awards for 63% of households receiving a payment in May 2021. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the proportion of households receiving housing entitlement fell from 65% in March 2020 to 59% in June 2020. It has generally been increasing since then.

Households are paid child entitlement to help with the cost of looking after children. Over two in five households in payment (43%) received child entitlement in May 2021. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the proportion of households receiving child entitlement fell from 46% in March 2020 to 40% in June 2020. Like housing entitlement, the proportion of households receiving child entitlement has generally been increasing since then.

In April 2021, 97% of households in payment received their full payment on time

Statistics on payment timeliness are produced 4 months in arrears to avoid large revisions to provisional figures caused by retrospection. This is to allow for more accurate and higher quality statistics.

Payment timeliness (all claims), Universal Credit, Great Britain, April 2017 to April 2021

Note: To allow sufficient time for information to be gathered on all payments, figures are not included for the latest month in the series. Payment timeliness statistics are available in Stat-Xplore from April 2019 onwards. Payment timeliness statistics for January 2017 to March 2019 for Universal Credit full service can be found in table 1.1 in the ODS table accompanying this bulletin. Figures prior to April 2019 are Universal Credit full service only. Figures marked (p) are provisional; figures marked (r) have been revised since the previous release.

Source: Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, Payment Timeliness

Households receiving their full payment on time for all claims in payment has continued an upward trend throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Of households in payment, 97% received all their payment on time in April 2021. This is an increase from 95% in April 2020.

Nearly all households in payment (99%) were paid all or some payment on time in April 2021.

A smaller proportion of new claims received their full payment on time than in April 2020

Payment timeliness (new claims), Universal Credit, Great Britain, April 2017 to April 2021

Note: To allow sufficient time for information to be gathered on all payments, figures are not included for the latest month in the series. Payment timeliness statistics are available in Stat-Xplore from April 2019 onwards. Payment timeliness statistics for January 2017 to March 2019 for Universal Credit full service can be found in table 1.1 in the ODS table accompanying this bulletin. Figures prior to April 2019 are Universal Credit full service only. Figures marked (p) are provisional; figures marked (r) have been revised since the previous release.

Source: Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit, Payment Timeliness

Payment timeliness is lower for new claims in comparison to all claims. There are several one-off verification processes that must be completed by the claimant and by DWP at the start of the claim. These are to confirm the current circumstances of the claimant (or both claimants in a joint claim) and their entitlement to Universal Credit. Delays to completion of these processes can cause payments not to be made on time.

The proportion of new claims (claims in their first assessment period on the count date) receiving all the first payment on time in April 2021 was 89%. This is lower than the 95% of new claims receiving all their first payment on time in April 2020.

Just over 93% of households received some or all their first payment on time in April 2021.

Payment timeliness was higher at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic because of temporary operational and policy changes. This includes redeploying staff within DWP to handle Universal Credit claims, and changes to some verification processes due to the closure of jobcentres.

7. Definitions

Claim made

A claim made is when an individual submits an application for Universal Credit.

Start

A person has started on Universal Credit when their identity has been verified and they have agreed their claimant commitment.

People

A person is counted on Universal Credit when they have met the definition to start, they have a National Insurance number recorded and there is no record of a closure of the claim.

Household and in payment

A household is a single person or co-habiting couple with or without dependant children. A household is counted when their assessment period overlaps the count date. An in payment household is one that has received a Universal Credit payment of £0.01 or more after deductions, sanctions and the benefit cap during that assessment period.

Conditionality Regimes

All people on Universal Credit are placed into one of four conditionality groups, depending on their personal circumstances. Which of these groups they are placed into will determine what activities they are required to do (if any) as part of their claim. Universal Credit statistics uses the term conditionality regime in place of ‘conditionality group’ and ‘labour market regime’. The table below shows the circumstances of individuals for each conditionality regime and the associated group and labour market regime.

Conditionality regime Description Conditionality Group Labour Market Regime
Searching for work Not working, or with very low earnings. Claimant is required to take action to secure work - or more or better paid work. The Work Coach supports them to plan their work search and preparation activity. Typical examples of people in this regime include jobseekers and self-employed in start-up period. Claimants are only in this regime if they do not fit into one of the other regimes. All work related requirements Intensive Work Search
Working – with requirements In work, but could earn more, or not working but has a partner with low earnings. All work related requirements Light touch
No work requirements Not expected to work at present. Health or caring responsibility prevents claimant from working or preparing for work. Examples of people on this regime include those in full time education, over state pension age, has a child under 1 and those with no prospect for work. No work related requirements No work related requirements
Working – no requirements Individual or household earnings over the level at which conditionality applies. Required to inform DWP of changes or circumstances, particularly at risk of earnings decreasing or job loss. No work related requirements Working enough
Planning for work Expected to work in the future/ Lead parent or lead carer of child aged 1 (aged 1 to 2, prior to April 2017). Claimant required to attend periodic interviews to plan for their return to work. Work focused interview Work focused interview
Preparing for work Expected to start work in the future even with limited capability to work at the present time or a child aged 2 (aged 3 to 4, prior to April 2017). Claimant expected to take reasonable steps to prepare for working including Work Focused Interview. Work preparation Work preparation

Universal Credit live service

The original service offering Universal Credit. Initially restricted to mostly single working age people with no children, seeking work. It was available throughout Great Britain by May 2016. It closed to new claims from 1 January 2018 and all remaining claimants were moved to full service by March 2019.

Universal Credit full service

Full service is the digital system that offers Universal Credit to the full range of claimant groups. New claims are made on gov.uk and most accounts are managed only through an online account. It was gradually introduced to Jobcentres from 2016 and was available in every Jobcentre across Great Britain and Northern Ireland by December 2018. When full service became available in a Jobcentre, existing Universal Credit claimants on live service were transferred to full service within 3 months.

A glossary for further terms used in Universal Credit statistics is included in the background and methodology document.

This publication complements other statistics bulletins that, together, provide a more coherent view of Universal Credit claimants and awards, and other benefits.

Benefit sanctions includes statistics on people having their award stopped or reduced for not meeting their agreed conditions.

Benefit Cap includes statistics on households who have had their Universal Credit award capped because their total amount received in benefits is higher than the maximum amount of benefits a household can receive.

DWP benefits provides statistics for benefits that Universal Credit is replacing.

Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children for Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits

Fraud and error in the benefit system provides estimates of the number of households that may have been paid too much Universal Credit or not enough. These overpayments and underpayments happen as a consequence of fraud; claimant error; and official error (processing errors or delays by DWP, a Local Authority, or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system’ estimates how much money the department incorrectly pays.

Universal Credit statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Communities (Northern Ireland).

Claimant Count is a measure of the number of people claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed, based on administrative data from the benefits system. It includes people on Universal Credit in the searching for work conditionality regime for the UK. Universal Credit statistics uses the same data excluding Northern Ireland.

Alternative Claimant Count statistics measure the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits by modelling what the count would have been if Universal Credit had been fully available from when Universal Credit was introduced in 2013 with the broader span of people this covers. Under Universal Credit, a broader span of claimants are required to look for work than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. This is a feature of the design of Universal Credit and has the effect of increasing the Claimant Count irrespective of how the economy performs. For this reason, the Office for National Statistics have stated that the Claimant Count figures are no longer a reliable indicator of the labour market. The Alternative Claimant Count attempts to address this.

European Social Fund (ESF) 2014 to 2020 (ESF 14 to 20) programme is an EU-funded employment, skills and social inclusion programme across England aimed at providing the help people need to achieve their potential. This publication uses Universal Credit data to show how many people who started on the programme were on Universal Credit.

9. About these statistics

What is Universal Credit?

Universal Credit is a single payment for each household to help with living costs for those on a low income or out of work. It is replacing 6 benefits, commonly referred to as the legacy benefits.

Support for housing costs, children and childcare costs are integrated into Universal Credit. It also provides additional support for people with a disability, health condition, or caring responsibilities which may prevent them from working.

Payments are contingent on certain work related activities being carried out depending on the outcome of the claimant assessment. Payment amounts can be reduced for a variety of reasons, such as sanctions, debt repayment, removal of spare room subsidy, or the taper for earnings above the work allowance.

Where to find out more

Information on these statistics are available in the following documents:

Detailed guidance on the policy and operational aspects of Universal Credit:

Data sources and limitations

These official statistics have been compiled using data in systems used by the department in the administration of Universal Credit and records of Universal Credit benefit payments made by the department.

While every effort is made to collect data to the highest quality, as with all administrative data it is dependent on the accuracy of information entered into the system. Checks are made throughout the process from collection of the data to producing the statistics, but some data entry or processing errors may filter through to the data used to produce the statistics. The quality assurance of administrative data report provides quality assessments on the data sources used in these statistics.

As Universal Credit continues to develop, caution should be used when interpreting statistics over long time periods. Administrative system changes could cause discontinuities in the time series that were not the result of a policy decision or the economic environment.

There are inherent differences in the data for People on Universal Credit and Households on Universal Credit, thus it is not possible to cross-tabulate between the two measures. More information is provided in the relationship between people and households on Universal Credit section of these differences between the 2 datasets.

A full discussion of strengths and limitations is in the background information and methodology

Release schedule

The bulletin is published quarterly in February, May, August and November, supplemented by monthly data updates for people on Universal Credit statistics in Stat-Xplore.

Next release of people on Universal Credit: 14 September 2021

Next release for claims, starts and households on Universal Credit: 16 November 2021

All releases for Universal Credit statistics can be found in the Universal Credit statistics collection.

Compliance check against the Code of Practice for Statistics

These statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for statistics.

A compliance check was conducted on Universal Credit statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in May 2019. We have acted on the recommendations made by the OSR to improve the presentation and user understanding of these statistics.

Rounding

Volumes and amounts have been rounded as detailed in the background information and methodology document. Percentages are calculated using numbers prior to rounding and rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

Revisions

Universal Credit statistics are subject to scheduled revisions as detailed in the background information and methodology document.

Notices

Children in Universal Credit households

New measures for children have been included for Universal Credit households from this release. The new measures are:

  • number of children in Universal Credit households
  • age of youngest child in Universal Credit households

The definition of children and children eligible for the child entitlement are different.

In addition to the children who are eligible for the child entitlement, the definition of children includes children over the age of 16 in non-advanced full-time education, looked-after children and, other young people living in multigenerational households whose parents are not the claimant. Therefore, the number of households awarded a child entitlement and the number of households with children may differ.

In a very small proportion of cases, information on children in the household is missing or unknown in the data available to statisticians for the reporting month in which the data is counted which may include some households awarded a child entitlement. Work is ongoing to reduce the missing or unknown data.

The data is available for all months from April 2019. Universal Credit operated on 2 systems before this date and the methodology can only be applied to the current system.

New methodology for family type

The methodology to determine families with children has been changed to be based on the new ‘number of children’ measure. Single and couple households with children will be based on whether the household has a child declared and accepted. The new methodology applies to data from April 2019. Data up to and including March 2019 are based on whether the household is awarded child entitlement.

Some unknown family types have been created by this new methodology. Work is ongoing to improve the data quality and reduce the number of unknowns.

New measure on bedroom entitlement

In line with DWP’s statistics user engagement strategy we are seeking views on our intention to publish a new measure. From the November 2021 release, it is intended to publish a new measure for the number of bedrooms households in the social rented sector are assessed to need under the removal of spare room subsidy policy.

Geography data for People on Universal Credit and Households on Universal Credit

Geography data used in this publication for People on Universal Credit and Households on Universal Credit are based on address information which is held in a central data source. The geography data may not be up to date for some claimants.

During the coronavirus pandemic, jobcentre appointments were suspended for claimants, which meant that evidence to verify a change of address could not be provided. As a result an update to the central information source used by Universal Credit statistics was deferred, which affects all geography statistics for People on Universal Credit and Households on Universal Credit from April 2020.

Work is ongoing to verify changes of address declared during the coronavirus pandemic and update the data source used for claimant addresses.

Geographies in the Claims made to Universal Credit and Starts to Universal Credit data are not affected by this issue as they are obtained from the Universal Credit full service data which records the addresses as declared by the claimant.

10. Contacts

Feedback on the content, relevance, accessibility and timeliness of these statistics and any non-media enquiries should be directed to:

Statistician: Stephen Slater

Email: team.ucos@dwp.gov.uk

For media enquiries on these statistics, please contact the DWP press office

For statistics enquiries only. These contact details are unable to provide any information or assistance with claiming Universal Credit.

ISBN: 978-1-78659-310-8