Official Statistics

Completing the move to Universal Credit: Statistics related to the move of households claiming Tax Credits and DWP Benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of March 2024

Published 14 May 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Main Stories

It should be noted that households who have been sent a migration notice to date may not be representative of the complete population who will be sent a migration notice.

In the period covered by this bulletin, the vast majority of migration notices have been sent to tax credit households whose likelihood of claiming UC and receiving transitional protection may be different from DWP legacy benefit claimants, the majority of whom had not yet been sent a migration notice in the period covered in this bulletin.

The statistics show that between July 2022 and March 2024:

• a total of 824,050 individuals in 540,070 households have been sent migration notices.
• a total of 400,940 of these individuals, living in 275,980 households, who were sent migration notices have made a claim to Universal Credit.
• of those who have claimed Universal Credit, 166,860 households have been awarded transitional protection.
• a total of 238,990 of individuals who were sent migration notices are still going through the Move to UC process.
• a total of 184,120 of individuals who were sent migration notices have had their legacy benefit claims closed

Introduction

Universal Credit (UC) has streamlined and simplified the benefits system by combining six ‘legacy’ benefits (Working Tax Credits (WTC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Housing Benefit (HB), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS) and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)) into a single monthly payment.

By the end of 2018, UC was rolled out to all Jobcentres for new claimants. However, there still remains a substantial number of households claiming legacy benefits. The total number of people and households currently claiming UC can be found on DWP’s Stat-Xplore web-site under “Households on Universal Credit”.

DWP’s strategy for moving these remaining households to UC is formed of three ‘tracks’ of migration (natural, voluntary and managed), as set out in the department’s Completing the Move to UC policy document, published in April 2022.

This statistical bulletin focuses on cohorts of benefit recipients where the migration notice (MN) was sent in or after July 2022. Information on recipients who were sent MNs before this period is available in an earlier publication Completing the move to Universal Credit: Learning from the Discovery Phase.

This document explains what Discovery is and the process employed by the department for moving people from legacy benefits to UC.

A research report covering additional insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts was published on 29 February 2024.

An ad-hoc statistical release detailing the number of complaints recorded specifically in relation to Move to UC was published on 14 May 2024. This updated an earlier ad-hoc statistical release published on 11 March 2024.

These statistics include the numbers of MNs sent, UC claims made, legacy benefit claims closed, reminders sent, and transitional protection (TP) awards made. A more detailed description of TP is included in the background information and methodology document. They also include demographic breakdowns of the data relating to these cohorts.

During July and August 2022, MNs were sent to all legacy benefit types; a number of households claiming TCs, and also DWP benefits (HB, income-related ESA, IS and income-based JSA) which have been replaced by UC.

It should be noted that claimants who have been sent a MN to date will not be representative of the complete population who will be sent a MN.

In particular, in the period covered by this bulletin the vast majority of migration notices have been sent to TC households whose likelihood of claiming UC and receiving TP may be different from DWP legacy benefit claimants, the majority of whom had not yet been sent a migration notice in the period covered in this bulletin.

Guidance

Data were extracted from DWP administrative systems on 08 April 2024.

All figures are rounded to 10.

Note that individual figures in tables may not sum to the total in tables due to independent rounding. When rounding a multiple of 5, the IEC 60559 standard is used, meaning that rounding is towards an even multiple of ten.

Where quoted, percentages have been calculated using unrounded values.

’..’ in tables indicate a nil or negligible count.

Further guidance on these statistics is available in the background information and methodology document.

Migration Notices sent to individuals and number claiming Universal Credit

Households are given an initial period of three months within which to claim. They may also be sent one or more reminders. This means that an overall claim rate calculated over all months will under-estimate the actual claim rate as it will not correctly account for people who are yet to claim. Figures for all months still may be subject to changes as further extensions may be granted to claimants.

The month column in all tables indicates the month in which the MN was sent.

Table 1: MNs sent to individuals by month MN Sent (July 2022 to March 2024)

Month MN Sent	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
All Months	824,050	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
Jul 2022	850	650	760	680	10	80
Aug 2022	190	160	150	130	..	40
Sep 2022	280	210	200	180	..	70
Oct 2022	..	..	..	..	..	..
Nov 2022	80	80	60	60	..	20
Dec 2022	90	80	70	60	..	20
Jan 2023	520	410	420	390	..	100
Feb 2023	960	740	720	660	..	250
Mar 2023	1,000	820	680	600	..	320
Apr 2023	4,950	3,870	3,610	3,270	10	1,330
May 2023	12,890	11,030	8,980	7,850	50	3,860
Jun 2023	23,170	19,520	17,500	15,850	70	5,610
Jul 2023	26,980	22,500	19,950	18,460	170	6,860
Aug 2023	44,460	35,070	33,150	31,020	330	10,980
Sep 2023	39,850	33,890	27,890	15,540	430	11,540
Oct 2023	106,140	95,880	66,650	53,690	1,700	37,780
Nov 2023	123,990	113,580	78,460	71,870	2,170	43,360
Dec 2023	132,400	119,480	77,280	73,480	3,130	51,990
Jan 2024	138,720	119,790	43,160	43,130	85,640	9,910
Feb 2024	152,590	96,810	20,450	20,450	132,140	..
Mar 2024	13,920	..	790	790	13,130	..

Notes:

’..’ indicates nil or negligible

Between July 2022 and September 2022, Move to UC was in an extended ‘Discovery’ phase, building on learning from the ETS phase. No MNs were sent in October 2022. From November 2022 onwards, the programme entered its operational phase.

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 3.

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 2: MNs sent to individuals by previous benefit claimed (July 2022 to March 2024)

Benefit	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
All Benefits	824,050	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
DWP Benefits	2,620	2,000	2,020	1,850	450	150
Tax Credits only	821,430	672,540	398,920	356,300	238,540	183,970

Claimants of CTC, WTC, HB, IB, IS and JSA were sent MNs. From September 2022 onwards, the Move to UC programme concentrated on recipients of Tax Credits.

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 8.

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 3: MNs sent to individuals by region (July 2022 to March 2024)

Region	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
Great Britain	824,040	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
England	721,320	588,560	346,060	309,720	213,230	162,020
North East	38,490	32,480	22,190	20,900	6,690	9,610
North West	126,830	109,850	73,100	62,800	22,530	31,210
Yorkshire and The Humber	104,520	89,530	58,530	52,040	22,040	23,950
East Midlands	71,580	61,070	40,540	36,290	10,870	20,160
West Midlands	104,060	65,280	22,810	21,810	76,180	5,060
East of England	64,430	52,980	27,160	24,620	24,820	12,460
London	74,300	62,870	33,810	29,510	19,160	21,330
South East	76,020	63,030	35,030	31,680	20,730	20,260
South West	61,090	51,470	32,900	30,070	10,210	17,980
Wales	44,100	37,080	23,040	19,930	11,280	9,780
Scotland	58,630	48,900	31,840	28,490	14,470	12,320
Unclassified	..	..	..	..	..	..

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

During the ETS phase, claimants in Medway and Bolton were sent MNs. Between July and September 2022, the service expanded to Cornwall (Falmouth and Truro), Northumberland (Berwick and Hexham), and London (Borough of Harrow). In February 2023, Move to UC extended to all areas within Cornwall.

Since April 2023, the expansion of Move to UC has brought in additional regions each month. DWP will be operating Move to UC activity in all regions / countries of Great Britain by September 2023 and expect to be undertaking Move to UC activity in all Jobcentre Plus districts by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 6.

Region has been derived from claimants’ postcodes recorded on administrative systems, as described in the background information and methodology document.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 4: MNs sent to individuals by age (July 2022 to March 2024)

Age	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
All Ages	824,050	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
20-24	270	210	160	140	50	60
25-29	9,820	7,680	5,520	4,920	2,350	1,940
30-34	57,770	46,070	32,100	29,070	15,000	10,670
35-39	141,550	114,880	74,570	67,790	40,390	26,580
40-49	362,570	296,880	177,960	159,050	107,330	77,280
50-59	211,160	174,330	93,360	82,170	62,460	55,340
60 and over	40,910	34,490	17,260	15,010	11,410	12,240

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 5.

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 5: MNs sent to individuals by gender (July 2022 to March 2024)

Gender	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
All Genders	824,050	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
Female	511,680	413,350	261,840	233,750	142,310	107,520
Male	312,370	261,190	139,100	124,400	96,680	76,600
Not recorded	..	..	..	..	..	..

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 4.

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 6: MNs sent to individuals by Household Type (July 2022 to March 2024)

HH Type	Migration Notices sent	of which reminders sent	Claims	of which claimed by initial deadline	In progress	Closed
All People	824,050	674,540	400,940	358,150	238,990	184,120
Single Adult	255,920	198,400	150,810	133,990	59,800	45,320
Couple	568,130	476,140	250,130	224,160	179,200	138,810

All individuals sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many individuals will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These individuals will be recorded in the ‘In Progress’ column. Therefore, care should be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made are given in the background information and methodology document.

Awards of Transitional Protection

Table 7: Households Awarded TP by Month MN Sent (July 2022 to March 2024)

Month MN Sent	MN Sent	UC Claims	Received Statement in AP1	TP Awards
All Months	540,070	275,980	275,850	166,860
Jul 2022	850	760	760	420
Aug 2022	190	150	150	90
Sep 2022	280	200	200	140
Oct 2022	..	..	..	..
Nov 2022	80	60	60	50
Dec 2022	90	70	70	60
Jan 2023	520	420	420	330
Feb 2023	960	720	710	580
Mar 2023	1,000	680	680	540
Apr 2023	4,950	3,610	3,600	2,980
May 2023	12,810	8,930	8,900	7,500
Jun 2023	22,750	17,260	17,230	14,650
Jul 2023	26,980	19,950	19,930	16,820
Aug 2023	44,460	33,150	33,140	27,550
Sep 2023	34,760	24,920	24,910	19,590
Oct 2023	54,910	34,780	34,780	15,050
Nov 2023	65,140	41,580	41,580	18,910
Dec 2023	75,530	45,040	45,040	20,870
Jan 2024	87,720	28,600	28,600	13,360
Feb 2024	97,190	14,520	14,520	7,170
Mar 2024	8,890	560	560	190

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 9 along with further breakdowns.

All households sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many households will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These households will not have had TP calculated. Care should also be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made and further information on TP are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 8: Households Awarded TP by previous benefit claimed (July 2022 to March 2024)

Benefit	MN Sent	UC Claims	Received Statement in AP1	TP Awards
All Benefits	540,070	275,980	275,850	166,860
DWP Benefits	2,160	1,810	1,810	730
Tax Credits only	537,910	274,170	274,050	166,130

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheet 18.

All households sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many households will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These households will not have had TP calculated. Care should also be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made and further information on TP are given in the background information and methodology document.

Table 9: Households Awarded TP by region (July 2022 to March 2024)

Region	MN Sent	UC Claims	Received Statement in AP1	TP Awards
Great Britain	540,070	275,980	275,850	166,860
England	469,460	236,740	236,620	140,770
North East	26,280	15,970	15,970	9,600
North West	82,400	48,780	48,750	28,310
Yorkshire and The Humber	65,950	38,110	38,100	22,210
East Midlands	46,320	27,380	27,380	16,880
West Midlands	64,300	15,360	15,360	8,300
East of England	42,200	18,870	18,860	11,890
London	50,230	24,280	24,260	13,570
South East	50,960	24,820	24,800	15,150
South West	40,820	23,170	23,140	14,860
Wales	29,320	15,970	15,970	10,620
Scotland	41,280	23,260	23,260	15,470

This table is included in the supporting spreadsheet in sheets 10 to 13 along with further breakdowns, including Local Authority District.

All households sent an MN have been included in this table. However, many households will not have passed their initial migration deadline and may still make a claim to UC. These households will not have had TP calculated. Care should also be taken in calculating claim and non-claim rates from this table.

Definitions used to calculate the number of claims made and further information on TP are given in the background information and methodology document.

Contact information and feedback

DWP would like to hear your views on these statistics. We would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements.

Feedback and queries about the statistics can be sent to ucad.briefinganalysis@dwp.gov.uk.

Press enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office: 0115 965 8828. E-mail: newsdesk@dwp.gov.uk.

Lead Statisticians: Ashley Buckner, Bryony Maw and Mike Payne

ISBN: 978-1-78659-667-3