Guidance

Benefit cap statistics: background information and methodology

Updated 22 September 2026

The latest release of statistics can be found in the collection of benefit cap statistics.

Context of the statistics

The Benefit Cap was introduced in 2013. It is a limit to the total amount of benefits a working-age claimant and other members of their household can receive. The Benefit Cap is applied to Universal Credit (UC) and Housing Benefit (HB).

The amount a household gets through the benefit cap depends on whether:

• they live inside or outside Greater London
• they are single or in a couple
• their children live with them (if they are single)

If they are in a couple but they do not live together, they will get the amounts for a single person.

When the Benefit Cap was first introduced it initially applied to Housing Benefit in selected local authorities (LAs) from April 2013. It was rolled out to all LAs by November 2013. As Universal Credit was rolled out, the number of households being capped in Universal Credit grew and by 2018 Universal Credit replaced Housing Benefit for new applications.

All existing working-age claimants of Housing Benefit (except those in temporary and specified accommodation) are expected to be moved to Universal Credit by 2026. The Benefit Cap is now applied almost entirely in Universal Credit except for a small number of Housing Benefit working-age claimants who cannot claim UC.

In addition to UC and HB, the benefits taken into account that determine if income exceeds the limit for the Benefit Cap are:

• Bereavement Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Employment and Support Allowance (except when the support component is in payment)
• Incapacity Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance (or Widowed Mother’s Allowance or Widow’s Pension if you started getting it before 9 April 2001)
• Child Tax Credit (prior to CTC claimants being moved to UC)

The Benefit Cap for UC is calculated as:

• Calculate the UC maximum amount (the standard allowance plus any elements, for example housing costs and child elements) excluding childcare costs paid by UC
• Deduct for any earnings or income (for example, savings)
• Add any other benefits that count towards the Benefit Cap, such as Child Benefit, to calculate the household’s total capped benefit amount
• Compare the household’s total capped benefit amount with the cap level and if the total capped benefit amount exceeds the cap level, calculate the excess
• Reduce the UC payment by the excess over the cap level
• Take into account any loans, advances or penalties

The Benefit Cap is not applied if the claimant or their partner is:

• over Pension Credit age
• getting UC because of a disability or health condition that stops them from working (this is called ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’)
• getting UC because they care for someone with a disability
• getting UC and the household earns more than the earnings threshold a month combined, after tax and National Insurance contributions.
• working enough hours to get Working Tax Credit (WTC), even if not claiming it

There is also a grace period during which the cap will not be applied:

• for households where the cap is applied through HB there is a grace period of 39 weeks during which time the cap will not apply to households where the claimant or, if applicable, their partner has worked for 50 weeks out of the 52 weeks preceding their last day of work
• for households where the cap is applied through UC there is a grace period of 9 months during which time the cap will not apply to those who have been in work for the previous 12 months, with household earnings at or above the UC earnings threshold after tax and National Insurance contributions.

A household is also not affected by the cap if someone in the household, including any children under 18, is in receipt of an exempting benefit:

• Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance
• Child Disability Payment
• Employment and Support Allowance (support component)
• Industrial Injuries Benefits (and equivalent payments as part of a War Disablement - Pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Adult Disability Payment
• War pensions
• War Widow’s or War Widower’s Pension

They are also exempt from the cap if a claimant, partner or child is entitled to:

• Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment
• The carer element of UC
• Guardian’s Allowance

Households in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Guardian’s Allowance became exempt from the benefit cap on 7 November 2016. This was announced in Parliament during the passage of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.

One-off payments are not included in the assessment of benefit income.

Benefit Cap limits

The Benefit Cap limit that applies to a household depends on whether they live in or outside Greater London and their family composition.

The same limit applied nationally from the introduction of the Benefit Cap in 2013. From November 2016, a different limit was applied for households living in Greater London.

Table: Benefit Cap limits since introduction in April 2013

Period applied	Location	Couple or lone parent	Single adult (no children)
Apr 2013 to Oct 2016	All Great Britain	£26,000	£18,200
Nov 2016 to Mar 2023	Greater London	£23,000	£15,410
Nov 2016 to Mar 2023	Outside Greater London	£20,000	£13,400
from Apr 2023	Greater London	£25,323	£16,967
from Apr 2023	Outside Greater London	£22,020	£14,753

More information about the Benefit Cap is available on GOV.UK.

Policy changes in September 2026 release

It is worth noting that the September release, covering data from March to May has coincided with the following three policy changes:

• Annual uprating: New rates take effect from April each year, after the review and increasing of benefit, pensions and allowance rate each year to keep pace with inflation, earnings growth and policy measures.  In 2026, UK benefits increased by 3.8%. More information on benefit and pension rates is available on GOV.UK

• Withdrawal of the two child limit: In April 2026, the government removed the two-child limit on Universal Credit and Tax Credit, taking effect from 6 April 2026. As a result, eligible families can claim the child element of Universal credit for a third or any subsequent child born after April 2017. Households benefiting by the removal of the two child limit will have their UC entitlement increase by £303.74 per month for each additional child they did not previously receive support for under the policy. The increase in UC entitlement may cause some households’ total benefit entitlement to exceed the benefit cap threshold. As a result, some households may become newly benefit capped. Where a household is not exempt from the Benefit Cap, the additional UC child element may increase the amount of Benefit Cap applied to the UC award.

• Rebalancing of UC: From April 2026, the UC standard allowance has been increased above inflation as part of the government’s UC rebalancing reform. For a single claimant aged 25 or over, this is estimated to provide an extra £295 per year, rising further over the decade. The higher UC health element (LCWRA) rate has increased from £423.27 to £429.80 per month, or approximately £110 above inflation for protected claimants who continue to receive the higher rate.

Purpose of the statistics

Benefit Cap statistics provide insight into the number of households claiming HB and UC since the introduction of the policy. It also shows detailed characteristics  including family type and geographical location.

The statistics are used by a variety of people within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), other central government Departments, Scotland and Wales devolved administrations and LAs and councils across Great Britain.

The statistics are also used by journalists for media articles, think-tanks, research institutes and the voluntary sector to inform research papers and policy work and the general public.

From February 2018 the statistics were expanded to include statistics on the number of households that have had their UC capped, categorised by geographical location, family type and the amount of UC capped.

From August 2018 the statistics on households that have had their UC capped were expanded further to include cumulative caseload data and off-flows from the UC cap. Off-flows are broken down to show the number of households that became exempt from the cap due to their earnings.

From August 2019 the statistics included total combined figures for HB and UC capped households. Additionally, from this data onwards, the proportion of capped households containing children has referred to all capped households, rather than only those claiming HB. From August 2019, average (mean) cap amounts for both benefits were added.

From September 2025, following most capped households on HB having moved to UC, the bulletin presented statistics only on UC. HB data remains available in Stat-Xplore.

Limitations of the statistics

Housing Benefit disruption

A data interruption occurred at Hackney Borough Council during October 2020, and the authority was unable to supply any HB data to DWP. The interruption lasted until August 2021.

Gloucester City Council were unable to supply DWP with HB data between December 2021 and July 2023. During this time period, it meant estimates for South West will have deteriorated in their quality and accuracy. Gloucester City Council represents 0.2% of all Housing Benefit claims in Great Britain and 2.5% of claims for the South West region.

A similar interruption occurred at Na h-Eileanan Siar Council (Western Isles) who are unable to supply DWP with HB data from October 2023 and December 2024.

For more information on these data disruptions and how they were handled, see DWP benefits statistical summary Background information note

Housing Benefit flows data

Due to the nature of the Housing benefit statistical data, the statistics may not reflect short term households capped. This is due to the statistical SHBE data being monthly snapshots and not capturing information on capped households that start and end between the snapshot dates.

When looking at the off-flows and outcomes statistics, the following points should be noted:

• there is no single source of outcomes and reasons for households to flow off the cap – the latest 100% DWP benefit scans, weekly HMRC tax credit data, the SHBE extract and DWP UC Official Statistics database are used to determine the most appropriate household benefits status

• an open WTC claim is a proxy for movements into work – this is not a comprehensive measure of moves into work; some individuals may go into work but not be eligible to claim WTC if their earnings are too high or the hours worked do not meet the claim requirements

• due to churn in on-flows and off-flows, the number of off-flows could be revised down from one release to the next as households that move back onto the cap are no longer counted as an off-flow

• some outcomes are not specifically a reason in themselves to come off the cap but are a measurable change in circumstance that may lead to an off-flow, for example a change in LA

• from August 2018 the method for determining off-flow outcomes, and the outcome categories used, have changed – this means that off-flow outcome statistics published from August 2018 are not comparable with those published before August 2018. Read more detail on housing benefit data

• from August 2018 we report on households that have flowed off the HB cap as they have stopped claiming HB and have a UC claim. From August 2019 we identify whether these households have their UC capped at the end of the quarter during which they leave the HB cap. Households who do move from the HB cap to the UC cap during the quarter are not counted as off flows from the benefit cap, only as having left the HB cap caseload

Universal Credit data

UC data is only included from the current administrative system, which was introduced in 2016. The new system was rolled out to Jobcentres gradually between 2016 and December 2018, and all claimants moved onto the new administrative system by April 2019. Due to data quality and reporting it is not possible to produce robust statistics on the number of households that were capped under the original administrative system. Therefore, statistics for capped households on UC before April 2019 do not necessarily include all capped households on UC.

Figures for the last 2 years may be revised in future publications, as in some instances UC awards may be retrospectively revised.

For example, the amount of UC due to be paid for a past assessment period may go up where it’s identified that a household should have been entitled to a UC element (such as housing costs), that wasn’t included in an earlier calculation of UC. This in turn could see their award being capped. In other circumstances there can be changes which means a household has the cap removed for a past assessment period.

The level of revision between previously published figures and the revised series varies across time periods, by geographical area and by other available breakdowns. More recent periods tend to be subject to a greater degree of revision than more distant ones. Read more on the revision of UC data.

Data sources

The data used to create Benefit Cap statistics are from administrative systems and secondary use of existing official statistics datasets, themselves derived from administrative systems. For these, accuracy is determined by how well the information is recorded and transmitted.

The data sources used to derive these statistics are:

• Universal Credit official statistics household data
• Housing Benefit caseload official statistics data
• Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS)
• Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE)
• Customer Information System (CIS)

Data sources that have been used previously to derive these statistics include:

• Child Benefit data extract
• New Tax Credits (NTC) data extract

Universal Credit official statistics household data

UC official statistics household data contains details on households that have an open UC claim. It is derived primarily from UCFS data. For more information on the UC official statistics data see Universal Credit statistics: background information and methodology.

Universal Credit Full Service

UCFS is the system that administers Universal Credit. It replaced the original system for administering Universal Credit, called UC Live Service. UCFS started to be introduced to Jobcentres in 2016 and was fully rolled out to all Jobcentres in Great Britain by December 2018. All Universal Credit claims have been administered on UCFS since April 2019.

Housing Benefit caseload official statistics data

This data is processed data for official statistics sourced from SHBE. It provides data for all open claims for Housing Benefit. For more information on HB caseload official statistics data see Housing Benefit caseload and flows statistics: methodology statement.

Single Housing Benefit Extract

The SHBE dataset is the primary source used to create HB statistics. It contains data about all HB claims and is collated from returns from administering Local Authorities. Local Authorities use a range of software suppliers to provide the systems to administer HB and to provide data to DWP. For more information on SHBE see Housing Benefit speed of processing statistics: methodology note.

Customer Information System

The Customer Information System (CIS) is a computer system used by the DWP to store basic identifying information about its customers such as name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. For more information about the CIS see Customer Information System – an explanation of the information held about you.

Methodology

The methodology used to produce these statistics has evolved over time as data sources are developed and different user needs are identified. An explanation of previous and current methodologies and application of the data sources follows.

Housing Benefit data

In the historical data up to November 2020, the main source of data on households that had their HB capped is the SHBE. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from LA computer systems. It has been designed to provide sufficient information for all current and future statistical purposes and is now the single source of HB data. From April 2013, a Benefit Cap field was added to the SHBE which provides the weekly amount that the HB of a household had been capped by. This marker is central to the production of the statistics on households that have had their HB capped.

The proportion of HB claiming households that have their benefits capped is created by taking the latest published HB caseload statistics from Stat Xplore, and calculating the percentage of these households that appear in the HB cap caseload at that month.

The age of the youngest child dependant in a household is calculated by merging data held on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) child benefit systems to HB data on capped households. DWP benefits data is merged with HB data on capped households to give information on the types of benefits claimed by capped households.

Data on those households that have (previously) had their HB capped that are no longer capped is linked to HMRC and DWP benefits data to determine why households are no longer capped.

Universal Credit

Data on households that have had their UC capped is taken from the DWP UC Official Statistics data and the UC administrative data system. Capped households in UC are selected by their statement data on the administrative system including an amount the payment has been capped by. For more information on how the DWP UC Official Statistics data are derived go to their background and information methodology document.

The proportion of UC claiming households who have their benefits capped is created by taking the latest published UC household caseload statistics and calculating the percentage of these households that appear in the UC cap caseload at that month.

Geography

Improvements to geography

Geography data is presented in these statistics based on the Census Output Area (COA). From the COA we are then able to identify administrative and parliamentary geographies for the household from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL).

In August 2020, a new methodology was introduced to identify the address of the household and associated COA. For more information on the change in methodology see Changes to DWP statistical geographies in National and Official statistics (National Archives).

In December 2025 geographies for all UC data was updated to be based on the COA2021.  In March 2026 geographies for all HB data was updated to be based on COA2021. For more information on the allocation of COAs and the effect of moving to geographies based on COA2021, see Changes to DWP statistical geographies in National and Official statistics (GOV.UK).

Between August 2020 and when the data was updated to COA2021, geographies were based on COA2011. Before August 2020 geographies were based on COA2001.

Characteristics of a household

The characteristics of a capped household (for example family type, number of children, cap amount) are reported differently for point-in-time caseload and cumulative caseload statistics.

• point-in-time caseload – the characteristics are reported as at the reporting month
• cumulative caseload – the characteristics are reported as at the first time a household was capped.

Age of Youngest Child Dependant

This is only available for UC capped households. It is calculated differently for point-in-time caseload and cumulative caseload statistics. In both cases the age of the youngest child in a household is taken from declared children data on the UC administrative system.

• point-in-time caseload – figures are based on the point-in-time caseload; the age of the youngest child dependant in a household is calculated at the reporting month (not at the time of initial cap) and household type is also given as at the reporting month
• cumulative caseload (HB only) – figures are based on the cumulative caseload; the age of the youngest child dependant in a household is calculated at the last month they were capped (not at the time of initial cap), which can be any month between April 2013 and the reporting month. Household type is reported as at the time of the initial cap and therefore, the household structure may have subsequently changed.

Number of Children

This is calculated differently for HB and UC statistics. For HB the number of children data are populated from the SHBE. For UC number of children data are derived from data on UC administrative systems.

From February 2020 (statistics for November 2019) a method to identify households who had no children and those with an unknown number of children has been developed for number of children in UC capped households. This means that UC number of children statistics published from February 2020 are not comparable with those published before February 2020.

Flows

In Benefit Cap statistics flows on and off the cap are counted at the first point of being on the cap and the last point of being on the cap. A household is counted as an on-flow in the first month they are capped. Up until the June 2026 release, a household was counted as an off-flow in the last month they were capped. From the September 2026 release, a household is counted as an off-flow in the first month after they were last capped; that is, 1 month later than previously. This change does not affect the number of off-flows being counted; only the month they are counted in.

The bulletin presents quarterly statistics for newly capped and off-flows. Newly capped are on-flows less any household that has moved from HB to UC while still being capped. Up to June 2026 because off-flows could only be counted up to the month before the reporting month for the point in time statistics, quarterly flows data was off-set by 1 month. For example, for the reporting month of February 2026, the quarterly flows statistics were presented for November 2025 to January 2026. From September 2026, the change in counting month for off-flows has aligned the quarterly flows statistics with that of the reporting month. For example, for May 2026, the quarterly flow statistics will be for March 2026 to May 2026. This allows easier understanding of how the monthly point-in-time statistics have changed from the flow statistics.

Benefit cap off-flows by outcome

In the June 2026 release of the Benefit Cap statistics, the outcomes at off-flow data for UC was withdrawn from both the bulletin and Stat-Xplore following the identification of an error with the methodology used to derive off-flows due to an earnings exemption. 

From the September 2026 release, the outcomes at off-flow data has been reinstated using a revised methodology. The methodological change provides a more accurate measure of off-flow outcomes due to earnings exemptions and has led to higher reported figures than those published previously. The full back series on Stat-Xplore has been updated to reflect the methodological change. As a result, users should take caution when using figures in previously published statistical bulletins, as they are not directly comparable to the revised series available on Stat-Xplore.

Housing Benefit Data

From August 2018 (statistics for May 2018) the method for determining off-flow outcomes, and the outcome categories used, have changed. This means that off-flow outcome statistics published from August 2018 are not comparable with those published before August 2018.

In August 2018, statistics for May 2018 were published using both the old and new methods, to allow users to understand the effect of the changes.

The way the total number of off-flows is determined is unchanged, so these statistics are comparable with those published before August 2018.

Households may flow on and off the cap numerous times as their circumstances change. The benefit cap official statistics contain data on the number of households no longer subject to the HB cap as at the reporting month. For example, in the August 2018 publication, the statistics show the total off-flows from the cap as at May 2018.

Before August 2018, the reason for off-flow from the benefit cap was given as at the reporting month, regardless of when a household moved off the cap. This meant that the outcome could change if a household remained off the cap.

From August 2018 onwards the outcome is reported as at the end of the quarter in which a household moved off the HB cap. This means the outcome is fixed at that point, unless a household is re-capped at a later date; if a household has multiple spells on and off the cap, the outcome after the latest spell will be reported.

For example, a household moved off the cap and at the end of that quarter had an open WTC claim. The household remained off the cap and by the next quarter had stopped claiming WTC and was instead claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is an exempt benefit. Before August 2018 the off-flow outcome for this household would have been reported as “open WTC claim” until they moved to PIP, when the outcome would change to “in receipt of an exempt benefit”. From August 2018 the outcome would be reported as “open WTC claim”, and stay like that for as long as the household remained off the cap, as this is the outcome at the end of the quarter the household flowed off the cap.

The reason for this change was the migration of households on HB to UC as the roll-out of UC continued. If we kept reporting outcomes at the latest reporting month, eventually all households would fall into the “No longer claiming HB” group as they move from HB to UC. The change ensures the outcome is a more timely representation of what happened to a household when they flowed off the HB cap.

We have also updated the outcome categories from August 2018:

• the “Household is no longer claiming HB” category has been broken down to show those who have moved off HB and started claiming UC. This is simply a measure of the number of households that had their HB capped that moved to UC. From August 2019 we identify whether these households have their UC capped at the end of the quarter during which they leave the HB cap. These households are considered off flows from the HB cap (as they are no longer a part of that caseload) but are not off flows from the cap. Due to this, total off flows from the benefit cap do not equal to the sum of HB cap and UC cap off flows.
• some of the lower order outcome categories (such as “Change in Household Structure” and “Change in Local Authority”) have been grouped together. These outcomes are not in themselves reasons for moving off the cap, but show a change of circumstance which may be indicative of why a household is no longer being capped. These outcomes have been grouped to allow outcomes to be reported as at the end of the quarter in which a household moved off the HB cap; it was not possible to retrospectively update these outcomes for households that moved off the cap before the latest quarter as the data is no longer available. It also creates a set of outcomes that, in time, can broadly be replicated for off-flows from the cap under UC.

The table below shows how the old outcomes map to the new outcomes.

Outcomes before August 2018 (show off-flow outcome at reporting month)	Outcomes from August 2018 onwards (show off-flow outcome at end of quarter of off-flow)
Household has an open Working Tax Credit (WTC) claim	Household has an open Working Tax Credit (WTC) claim
Household is in receipt of an exempt benefit (Employment Support Allowance support group / Disability Living Allowance /Industrial Injuries / Personal Independence Payment)	Household is in receipt of an exempt benefit (Employment Support Allowance support group / Disability Living Allowance / Industrial Injuries / Personal Independence Payment)
Household is no longer claiming Housing Benefit	No longer claiming HB with a UC claim – capped on UC
Household is no longer claiming Housing Benefit	No longer claiming HB with a UC claim – not capped on UC
Household is no longer claiming Housing Benefit	No longer claiming HB with no UC claim
Amount of Housing Benefit claimed has reduced	Amount of Housing Benefit claimed has reduced
Household benefit income below cap level without a change to Housing Benefit amount	Other – includes household benefit income below cap level without a change to Housing Benefit amount, change in original household structure, change in recorded Local Authority, grace period, operational factors / timing, no longer working age
Change in original household structure (i.e. change, addition or loss of a partner – does not include dependants)	Other – includes household benefit income below cap level without a change to Housing Benefit amount, change in original household structure, change in recorded Local Authority, grace period, operational factors / timing, no longer working age
Change in recorded Local Authority	Other – includes household benefit income below cap level without a change to Housing Benefit amount, change in original household structure, change in recorded Local Authority, grace period, operational factors / timing, no longer working age
Other – includes grace period, operational factors / timing, no longer working age	Other – includes household benefit income below cap level without a change to Housing Benefit amount, change in original household structure, change in recorded Local Authority, grace period, operational factors / timing, no longer working age

There may be multiple reasons for the cap to no longer apply. To avoid multiple counts for a household, a hierarchical approach to outcome is used for reporting, as set out in the table above, with only the top-most reason for which a household is eligible being reported on.

The hierarchical ordering of outcomes was determined in discussions with policy colleagues. The WTC exemption was deemed to be the most important reason (indicating a movement into work), followed by other exemptions from the cap (such as a household starting to claim an exempt benefit, such as Disability Living Allowance).

Universal Credit Data

As with the HB cap, households may flow on and off the cap under UC numerous times as their circumstances change. The UC cap statistics report on the number of households that are first capped and last capped in each month.

The outcome for a household flowing off the cap under UC is reported as at the next assessment period following the one in which a household was last capped. This means the outcome is fixed at that point, unless a household is re-capped at a later date; if a household has multiple spells on and off the cap, the outcome after the latest spell will be reported.

From August 2018 the only outcome published for households moving off the cap under UC is for those that become exempt because of their earnings. This means that their earnings in the assessment period following the assessment period in which they were last capped exceed an earnings threshold. The earnings thresholds for each financial year are given in the table below:

Table: Earnings threshold

Financial year	Earnings threshold (household earnings per assessment period after tax and National Insurance contributions)
2016 to 2017	£499
2017 to 2018	£520
2018 to 2019	£542
2019 to 2020	£569
2020 to 2021	£604
2021 to 2022	£617
2022 to 2023	£658
2023 to 2024	£722
2024 to 2025	£793
2025 to 2026	£846
2026 to 2027	£881

Definitions

Point-in-time caseload

The number of capped households at each month on the reference date. The reference date is the second Thursday of each month.

For HB this means having an open claim on the reference date and is capped for that period.

For UC this means having an open claim with the assessment period being capped covering the reference date.

Point-in-time datasets include one record per household, for each month in which the household is capped. From these datasets it is possible to identify the capped caseload at each month.

Cumulative caseload

The number of households that have ever been capped from the introduction of the benefit cap (or October 2016 for UC) to the latest month.

Cumulative datasets contain one record per household that has been capped on either HB or UC at any time. Characteristics of these households (for example, family type, LA, region) are recorded based on the circumstances at the time the household was first capped. It is important to be aware that these characteristics may have subsequently changed.

Off-flows

Households that no longer have their benefit income capped by the benefit cap. Households are counted as an off-flow in the first month after there income is last capped by the benefit cap. For example, if the last month a household’s benefit income was capped was April 2026, then they would be counted as an off-flow in May 2026.

On-flows

An on-flow is when a household starts having their benefit income capped by the benefit cap. A household is counted in the first month their benefit income was capped.

A household can transition from being capped on HB to UC with no break in capping. In these cases, when a household is no longer capped under HB but immediately on-flows to the UC cap, it is considered to be capped on UC for the first time.

Newly capped

The number of households that have their benefits capped for the very first time.

Unlike on-flows, newly capped refers to the first time a household is capped irrespective of the benefit (HB or UC). This means that households that on-flow to the UC cap having immediately off-flowed from the HB cap are not newly capped, as they have been capped previously.

Due to limitations of current methodology, it is not possible to identify households that off-flow from the HB cap and later (however, not immediately) on-flow to the UC cap. This would be counted as newly capped because they did not immediately flow from the HB cap to the UC cap.

Household

One or two adults, living together as a couple, plus any dependent children they are living with.

In other statistics this may also be referred to as a ‘benefit unit’. This definition differs from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition which defines a household as one person alone; or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area. A household by the ONS definition may contain multiple benefit units.

There are a small number of cases where an individual or household has more than one HB claim, for these cases, only the most recent claim is reported on.

Reporting month or reference month

For HB data, LAs extract and return their data to DWP over a four week rolling period based on an extraction schedule for each LA. For example, “February 2020” data was typically extracted between 28 January and 21 February 2020. Each LA may extract their data up to one week before the date it is scheduled to be returned to DWP. Consequently, the statistics do not directly relate to a particular date but rather show the position of capped cases over a monthly cycle.

For UC data, a household must have an assessment period that includes the ‘count date’ for a given month. An assessment period is defined as the month for which a UC payment is made. Assessment periods start at any point in the month and run until the day before the same date in the following month. The count date is the second Thursday of the month. Entitlement to UC must also have been calculated.

Administrative geographies

In this release, HB data are presented using two sets of geographical classifications:

• Administrative
• Residential

Administrative geographies represent the administrative body responsible for administering the HB and are therefore only relevant at LA level. In some instances, the administrative LA can be responsible for administering HB outside the geographical boundaries of their own LA, and the responsibility for specific dwellings may also change over time.

Residential geographies

In this release, HB data are presented using two sets of geographical classifications:

• Administrative
• Residential

Residential geographies represent the geographic boundaries of the LA area and are determined by the location of the dwelling that the HB relates to. Residential geographies can be presented at various levels based on the postcode of the dwelling. These range from the output areas (OAs), which comprise a few postcodes only, up to country level. Residential geographies may change if there is a change in the geographical boundaries and will affect all the dwellings affected by the boundary change.

Data Confidentiality

These statistics are produced in accordance with DWP Statistics Confidentiality policy and data management approach statement and the Code of Practice for Statistics. This requires that statistics producers should “Protect the confidentiality of individual and business information when producing statistics“ and “apply appropriate disclosure control methods before release ”.

Most data derived for Benefit Cap statistics is disclosure controlled by applying ‘Introduced Random Error’ to ensure that no data is released which could risk the identification of individuals. For more information on this, see Stat Xplore Data Confidentiality.

The relative effect of using a statistical disclosure control on small value cells will be greater than high value cells, therefore calculating percentages based on very small value cells should be treated with caution. There may be occasions where disclosure control creates illogical values; for example, in rows containing small values, sub-category totals may be larger than the category total. In this case any percentages would be capped at 100% of the total.

From November 2016, all figures contained within the statistical release are subject to rounding unless otherwise stated. The level of rounding applied, which is dependent on the magnitude of the figure being quoted, is shown in the table below.

Users should note that percentages shown within the statistical release are calculated using figures prior to rounding.

Range	Rounded to the nearest:
0 to 1,000	10
1,001 to 10,000	100
10,001 to 100,000	1,000
100,001 to 1,000,000	10,000
1,000,001 to 10,000,000	100,000
10,000,001 to 100,000,000	1,000,000

Revisions

The Department’s policy statement describes how DWP will handle revisions.

The statistics on households capped under UC may be revised because awards may be subject to retrospective revision. For example, the amount of UC due to be paid for a past assessment period may go up where it’s identified that a household should have been entitled to a UC element (such as housing costs), that wasn’t included in an earlier calculation of UC. This in turn could see their award being capped. In other circumstances there can be changes which means a household has the cap removed for a past assessment period.

The level of revision between previously published figures and the revised series varies across time periods, by geographical area and by other available breakdowns. However, more recent periods tend to be subject to a greater degree of revision than more historic ones.

From September 2025, the methodology to produce the Universal Credit data in Benefit Cap statistics was changed from revising the whole time series with each release to only revising the last 2 years. The remainder of the time series has been frozen. This period was chosen as the majority of retrospection occurs within the last 2 years and, although there is some retrospection beyond that, it is minimal and does not change trends. This period also aligns Benefit Cap statistics with the scheduled revisions methodology for the UC official statistics households series.

Status of the statistics

Official statistics

These statistics are classified as official statistics. Prior to September 2023, the UC part of Benefit Cap statistics was classed as ‘experimental’. This classification was changed to official statistics following a review of all DWP experimental statistics with the DWP Chief Statistician approving the reclassification.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing the statistical production team. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or through the OSR website.

Quality Statement

The quality of official statistics is measured with reference to the relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, comparability and coherence of the statistics collected, analysed and reported. We continually monitor our statistics against these principles.

Relevance

These statistics present a range of information on the Benefit Cap to meet user needs. Users are encouraged to provide feedback on the usefulness of the statistics, data gaps or for other suggestions in the presentation of the statistics. Suggestions are considered against data and resource availability.

Accuracy

Benefit Cap statistics are produced from administrative data. Every effort is made to produce statistics that are as accurate as possible, including extensive quality assurance on the produced data. However, as with any administrative data, it is probable that a small amount of error exists in the system through the data that is input into the system. This may be due to mistaken entry, misunderstanding what is required or a deliberate attempt to defraud.

Timeliness

The statistics are produced quarterly, 4 months in arrears – for example, data up to February is published in June. The statistics are produced as soon as HB caseload and UC official statistics household data for the reference period is available. From the data becoming available the schedule allows for approximately 5 to 6 weeks for the data to be processed and the various statistics outputs to be produced, quality assured and prepared for publication.

Accessibility

The statistics are released on GOV.UK in HTML format and, up to March 2026, open format ODS tables. Data is released on Stat-Xplore. Releasing in these formats ensures that no propriety software is required to access the data. Alternative formats are available on request. Outputs are also published in consideration of public sector accessibility regulations.

Comparability and coherence

Benefit Cap statistics are produced to a consistent methodology to enable comparison over time. When methodologies or data sources change, consideration is given to if it is practicable to refresh the entire back series or create a break in the series. When it is not practicable to refresh the entire back series, documentation is provided to explain that the series is not comparable from the change to before it. Coherence with other statistics, in particular UC official statistics and HB caseload, is a natural consequence of using the datasets for those 2 datasets as the base data for Benefit Cap statistics processing.

Feedback

We welcome and encourage feedback on any aspect of these statistics including presentation, usefulness and accessibility. Please feedback by emailing cbm.stats@dwp.gov.uk.

Useful links

This document, the statistical release and supporting tables, along with previous releases.

Use Stat-Xplore to create your own tables and further breakdowns of these statistics.

More information is available through these links:

• Benefit cap

• Housing Benefit caseload

• Universal Credit statistics

• Policies and procedures relating to DWP official statistics