Guidance

Changes made to DWP statistics since April 2025

Updated 25 September 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-statistical-work-programme/changes-made-to-dwp-statistics-since-april-2025

To continue to meet user needs we regularly review our releases to look at the existing content, as well as opportunities from new data and new or emerging user requirements.

Read about Changes made to DWP statistics between April 2020 and March 2025.

The changes delivered since April 2025 across our releases are set out in 5 themes:

Summary statistics 

DWP Benefits Statistics 

This is a compendium publication that brings together key statistics on benefits administered by the department to provide a complete picture of DWP responsibility. Statistics on Housing Benefit (administered by Local Authorities) and Universal Credit are also included. 

Changes delivered since April 2025: 

  • from the August 2025 release the following was included:  
    • Inclusion of a new flag indicating whether a customer’s Housing Benefit claim is in shortfall (i.e., does not fully cover their rent payment). This flag has been added to the Stat-Xplore Housing Benefit Point in Time Caseload table.

Employment Support Schemes

Work and Health Programme

The Work and Health Programme (WHP) predominantly helps disabled people, as well as the long-term unemployed and certain other priority groups (known as early access groups) to enter into and stay in work.

From November 2018, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has released Official Statistics about WHP. These provide information on a regular basis about the number of:

  • referrals to WHP
  • starts to WHP
  • job outcomes

Changes delivered since April 2025:

  • from the May 2025 release, the following additional breakdown was included:
    • pioneer statistics – 12-month measures for first earnings from employment and job outcomes measures

Housing and Heating

Housing Benefit Debt Recoveries statistics

The Housing Benefit Debt Recoveries statistics include statistics on the amount of Housing Benefit that is overpaid to claimants, the overpayments recovered and amounts written off.

Changes delivered since April 2025:  

  • from the September 2025 release the following was introduced:  
    • a new graph and narrative, which shows recovery and write-off as a proportion of available debt, for additional context to the existing total amounts of recovery/write-off in the publication. This provides a more transparent picture of recovery against the total outstanding and identified over time

Winter Fuel Payments statistics

The Winter Fuel Payment statistics present tables and commentary on Winter Fuel Payment recipients and households.

Changes delivered since April 2025:  

  • from the September 2025 release the following was introduced:  
    • statistics are available for the first time on Stat-Xplore covering the last 3 years of Winter Fuel Payments
    • the statistics now include a measure of the proportion of the pension population who are beneficiaries of Winter Fuel Payment

Pensions and Older People 

Pension Credit applications and awards

The Pension Credit applications and awards cover the number of weekly Pension Credit claims received, claims cleared and claims awarded.

Changes delivered since April 2025:  

  • from the September 2025 release the following additional breakdowns were included:
    • the geographic distribution of applications and awards – by country, region, local authority, and Westminster parliamentary constituency

Workplace Pension Participation 

The Workplace pension annual statistics include detailed breakdowns of the number of savers, and the amount of savings. 

Changes delivered since April 2025:  

  • from the July 2025 release the following was introduced:
    • new reporting on median contribution rates as a percentage of pay, by sector and gender
    • more detailed statistics on the decumulation phase, including more granular breakdowns by age 
    • different industry groupings aligned with other publications from HMRC/ONS (e.g. ASHE), backdated for the entire series 
    • more granular age bands and employer size categories, e.g. 22–25, 25–29, etc. 
    • reporting on all employees in certain groupings, not just those eligible for Automatic Enrolment 
    • including breakdowns by Parliamentary Constituency

Spending, Fraud and Error

Benefit Cap statistics

The Benefit Cap statistics provide statistics on households affected by the benefit cap.

Changes delivered since April 2025:  

  • from the September 2025 release the following was introduced:
    • Universal Credit (UC) capped household statistics will only be refreshed for the latest 2 years; older data will be frozen
    • Housing Benefit (HB) capped household data will only be available via Stat-Xplore. The bulletin will no longer include HB narratives, graphs, or tables. This reflects the low number of capped HB cases as UC replaces HB for working-age customers

Fraud and error in the benefit system

DWP pays benefits to over 20 million people. It is necessary to estimate how much money the department incorrectly pays, either through over or under payment. The overpayments or underpayments can occur for a number of reasons such as:

  • claimant error
  • official error
  • a consequence of fraud

This annual publication presents estimates of the rates of these over and underpayments as well as their respective causes (fraud and error). Benefits measured as part of DWP’s fraud and error analysis include:

  • Universal Credit (UC)
  • Housing Benefit (HB)
  • Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Pension Credit (PC)
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

Changes delivered since April 2025:

  • from the May 2025 release, the following changes were introduced:
    • change to how we deal with Living Together overpayment cases where both claimant and alleged partner are benefit claimants
    • change to the proxy measure we use for Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) Fraud and Error due to the change in WFP eligibility rules
    • change to New Case Factors
    • change to causal Link Non-Residency Fraud Adjustment
    • change to Error Code Framework Adjustments

Unfulfilled Eligibility in the benefit system

To get welfare benefits people need to meet certain eligibility criteria and the amount of money they receive depends on their circumstances. Sometimes people tell us the wrong information or do not tell us when their circumstances change. Reporting accurate information and providing evidence may change the amount of benefit people are eligible for and in some circumstances, they may be eligible for more money. However, we cannot calculate the correct amount unless people tell us accurately about their circumstances. This means that people are not eligible for increases in the amount of money they receive until we have the correct information.

The publication Unfulfilled eligibility in the benefit system estimates how much extra money benefit claimants could be getting if they told us accurately about their circumstances. These people are already getting some money on a certain benefit but may not be getting all the money they could be eligible for on this benefit – we call this unfulfilled eligibility.

Changes delivered since April 2025:

  • from the May 2025 release, the following changes were introduced:
    • change to New Case Factors
    • change to how we deal with Living Together unfulfilled eligibility where both claimant and alleged partner are benefit claimants
    • change to Error Code Framework Adjustments

Work and unemployment

Universal Credit

The Universal Credit statistics have been developed to provide information about people and households on UC, and claims and starts to UC. 

The main statistical release for claims, starts, people and households on UC is published quarterly. This is supplemented by monthly updates of data for people on UC. All data are available via Stat-Xplore, interactive maps and dashboard, and the quarterly statistical publication which is published on GOV.UK in HTML format.

Changes delivered since April 2025: 

  • from the July 2025 release the following additional breakdowns were included:
    • inclusion of breakdowns of immigration status and nationality – this will be incorporated into quarterly releases going forward

The Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants publication shows the number of claimants (single or joint adult households with any dependent children or young people) affected by the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children and eligible for a positive Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit award. They include statistics relating to the exceptions to the policy.

Changes delivered since April 2025: 

  • from the July 2025 release the following additional breakdowns were included:
    • the age of the youngest child in the household 
    • demographic information of households, such as gender and ethnicity 
    • receipt of other benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
    • whether households are also affected by the benefit cap 
    • the conditionality group of households
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