The Universal Credit Survey 2025
A report exploring Universal Credit (UC) customers’ knowledge, understanding, attitudes and barriers to work, and how their understanding of UC incentives shapes their views on working and progression.
Documents
Details
Research background
Ipsos conducted a large-scale quantitative survey to explore Universal Credit (UC) customers’ characteristics, as well as their knowledge and understanding of UC. The survey also investigated aspirations towards work and progression, barriers, and support needs to better understand customer experiences.
Additionally, the Department for Work and Pensions evaluated the effectiveness of incentives (shopping vouchers) in increasing survey response rates among UC customers.
Contribution to the evidence base
This research provided DWP with in-depth insight into how much customers know about UC and its incentives, what their attitudes are to work and earning more, their barriers and support needs. The survey has revisited topics explored in previous work, for example reasons for claiming, understanding of work incentives, support from Work Coaches and UC childcare offer, and also covered new topics to reflect increasing policy interest such as the use of advances, changes of circumstances and self-employment.
The findings from the survey participation incentives trial contribute to the department’s wider evidence base on what makes an effective and value-for-money research design.
Research value
This research has helped the department to better understand customers’ knowledge of UC and its incentives, their work aspirations and the barriers and support needs. It also provided some quantitative insight into the effectiveness of existing jobcentre support and work incentives on UC, such as UC childcare support offer, the taper and work allowance.
In addition, the findings from the 2025 UC survey will contribute to DWP’s broader evidence base on how UC is working in practice. This includes contributing evidence to the department’s ongoing review of UC, which is examining how UC is working for customers.
In particular, the survey provides up to date claimant perspectives on incentives, understanding of the system, and barriers to work, which will help inform ongoing policy development across UC.