Official Statistics

Benefit cap: number of households capped to August 2023

Updated 20 December 2023

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-august-2023/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-august-2023

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

The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit that most working age people can get.

The amount of benefit a household receives is reduced to ensure claimants do not receive more than the cap limit. The benefit cap can be applied through either:

  • Universal Credit (UC)

  • Housing Benefit (HB)

The benefit cap was introduced in April 2013. It was initially applied to HB and subsequently to UC, as UC was gradually rolled out. UC replaces 6 means-tested benefits including HB and since December 2018, UC has been available across Great Britain (GB) to people applying for means-tested social security support. However, a small number of the population may still apply for HB. Read about who can get HB. DWP is in the process of moving all legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit.

This release covers data to August 2023. The benefit cap levels were increased in April 2023 to:

  • £22,020 per year (or £14,753 for single adults with no children) nationally

  • £25,323 per year (£16,967 for single adults with no children) in Greater London

Prior to April 2023, from November 2016 to March 2023, the benefit cap levels were:

  • £20,000 per year (or £13,400 for single adults with no children) nationally

  • £23,000 per year (£15,410 for single adults with no children) in Greater London

Figures within this release have been rounded in line with our rounding policy. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Full data including all historic data is available on Stat-Xplore.

1. Main stories

The main stories are:

The number of households that flowed on and off the cap between May 2023 and August 2023

Source: DWP Universal Credit Quarterly Statistics and DWP Housing Benefit Caseload Statistics.

In the latest quarter for households capped on HB:

  • the number of households that had their HB capped decreased by 13% from May 2023 (7,400) to August 2023 (6,400).

  • 5,600 households remained capped on HB at August 2023

  • 1,800 households off-flowed from the benefit cap, which means no longer on the benefit cap (between May 2023 and July 2023). Of the 1,800 off-flows, 35% (640 households) were no longer claiming HB. Of the households no longer claiming HB, 68% (440) are now claiming UC.

  • 180 households moved from HB to UC and continued to be capped (between May 2023 and July 2023)

  • 140 households were newly capped, which means they were on the HB benefit cap caseload for the first time (between May 2023 and July 2023):

  • Of the 140 newly capped HB households, 40 were also off-flows within the same time-period (May 2023 and July 2023)

  • 720 households returned to the HB cap that had been capped prior to, but not at, May 2023.

In the latest quarter for households capped on UC:

  • the number of households that had their UC capped at August 2023 was 77,000, which is the same as at May 2023

*57,000 households remained capped at August 2023

  • there were 27,000 off-flows (between May 2023 and July 2023)

  • 180 households moved from HB to UC and continued to be capped (between May 2023 and July 2023). In this case it is not the first time the household was on the benefit cap, rather the first time it was capped under UC

  • 10,000 were newly capped (between May 2023 and July 2023)

  • 11,000 returned to the UC cap that had been capped prior to, but not at, May 2023

Around 11,000 households (10,300 newly capped and 180 that have moved from the HB cap) flowed on to the UC cap. Of these, 3,600 also flowed off the cap within the same time-period (between May 2023 and July 2023).

Note: On-flow and off-flow figures relate to different time periods.

2. The number of capped households in GB

At August 2023, 83,000 households had their benefits capped in GB:

  • 77,000 were capped on UC

  • 6,400 were capped on HB

The total number of capped households has decreased by 1% (1,100) when compared to the previous quarter (May 2023):

  • The number of households capped under UC has remained at a similar level when compared to last quarter

  • The number of households capped under HB has continued to reduce, with a 13% (940 households) decrease compared to last quarter

The total number of capped households (on HB and UC) has decreased by 1% from May 2023 to August 2023

Monthly number of UC and HB capped households from April 2013 to August 2023

Source: Benefit Cap HB point in time caseload and UC point in time caseload statistics to August 2023, Stat Xplore.

UC came into the scope of the benefit cap in October 2016 and capped households claiming UC steadily increased from 350 households (October 2016) to 11,000 households when UC was fully rolled out in December 2018. Up until this point, the changes to the overall capped caseload were driven by HB capped households which reached 67,000 households in June 2017, following the change to current cap levels. The HB capped caseload remained stable until August 2017 (65,000 households).

Following the completion of GB-wide roll out of UC in December 2018, the households capped on UC increased due to:

  • the majority of new claimants no longer being able to apply for legacy benefits, only UC

  • HB claimants moving onto UC

The UC capped caseload overtook the HB capped caseload in October 2019, with 36,000 HB households capped and 38,000 UC households capped. Since then, HB capped households have continued to steadily decrease to 6,400 households at August 2023.

Between March 2020 and April 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UC capped caseload increased by 92%, from 58,000 households to 110,000 households. From April 2020 until March 2021 the number of households capped on UC increased to a peak of 160,000. The number of households capped on UC decreased sharply from March 2021 to the quarter to November 2021, with a 40% (66,000 households) decrease to 99,000 households.

From November 2021 until April 2023, the monthly number of households capped under UC remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 96,000 and 110,000 households. However, May 2023 saw a 21% decrease (20,000 households) when compared to April 2023. The majority of the decrease was due to the increased benefit cap levels which were implemented from April 2023. Figures remained stable from May 2023 to August 2023.

Please note, these comparisons are at a monthly level and therefore figures and percentages may be different to quarterly comparisons.

10,000 households (UC and HB) were newly capped in the latest quarter.

The number of newly capped households has decreased at August 2023 compared to last quarter

Quarterly number of newly capped UC and HB households from April 2013 to August 2023

Source: Benefit Cap HB cumulative and UC cumulative caseload statistics to August 2023, Stat-Xplore.

10,000 households had their benefits capped for the first time this quarter (May 2023 to July 2023). This is 40% (6,800) less households than last quarter (February 2023 to April 2023), when 17,000 households had their benefits capped for the first time.

Note: Newly capped households are those that have their benefits capped for the very first time. For UC, this excludes off-flows from the HB cap who then immediately become capped under UC. Figures may refer to different time periods.

Numbers of UC capped off-flows have fallen for the latest quarter but have returned to a comparable level to quarters prior to the increased Benefit cap levels at April 2023.

Quarterly number of households that have flowed off the UC and HB cap from November 2013 to August 2023

Source: Benefit Cap HB cumulative and UC cumulative caseload statistics to August 2023, Stat-Xplore.

In the quarter to August 2023, 27,000 households left the UC cap, a 47% decrease when compared to the previous quarter (May 2023). Of these off-flows, 13% (3,600 households) were also on-flows during this quarter. This means that these households had their UC capped for the first time and left the cap during this quarter.

The number of quarterly off-flows from UC steadily increased to 5,600 at the quarter ending November 2019. The increase has been greater since the quarter ending February 2020, with a peak number of UC off-flows observed at November 2021 (50,000) which coincided with the withdrawal of the temporary £20 uplift to UC in October 2021.

Since then, the quarterly number of UC off-flows has fluctuated steadily. However, in the latest quarter to August 2023, the number of quarterly off-flows from UC decreased markedly to 27,000 households, when compared to May 2023 (50,000 households). The elevated levels of UC off-flows at May 2023, however, should be seen in the context of the increased benefit cap levels which were implemented from April 2023, with off-flows in the quarter to August 2023 comparable to those of the same quarter in the preceding year.

In the quarter to August 2023, 7% (2,000) of UC households that flowed off the cap, left the cap due to having employment earnings at, or over, the employment earnings threshold of £722 per assessment period (from 12 April 2023). The remaining 93% (25,000) left due to other reasons, examples include a household’s benefit income has reduced under the cap level, a household in receipt of an exempting benefit or a household no longer claiming UC. This compares to 6% (3,000) of UC households that left due to earning over the earnings threshold, and 94% (47,000) leaving the cap due to other reasons, in the quarter to May 2023.

The employment earnings exemption threshold is subject to change each financial year. The earnings exemption threshold is £722 for the Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024. Details of previous exemption threshold levels can be found in background information and methodology document.

Off-flow outcomes are shown as at the end of the quarter in which a household moved off the benefit cap, meaning the outcomes are fixed at that point, unless a household is capped again at a later date. More detail on the way off-flow outcomes are determined is included in the background information and methodology document.

In the quarter to August 2023, 1,800 households left the HB cap. Of the 1,800 off-flows, 35% (640 households) were no longer claiming HB. Of these, 68% (440) of households no longer claiming HB are now claiming UC.

Of the households which flowed off the HB cap in the latest quarter, 6% (100 households) left the HB cap with an open WTC claim. This compares to 140 households (6%) that left the HB cap with an open WTC claim last quarter (May 2023).

Since December 2018, WTC has been replaced by UC with only a small number of the population able to apply for WTC, see the eligibility criteria and further information about WTC.

3. Characteristics of capped households

90% of households (HB and UC) that are currently capped include children.

At August 2023, 90% (75,000) of total capped households that had their benefits capped included children. In UC, 90% (69,000) of capped households included children and in HB, 87% (5,600) of capped households included children.

Of the households including children, capped at August 2023:

  • 89% (67,000) had between 1 and 4 children

  • 11% (8,000) had 5 or more children

UC capped households have fewer children per household than HB capped households

Proportion of UC and HB capped households by number of children at August 2023

Source: Benefit Cap HB point in time caseload and UC point in time caseload statistics to August 2023, Stat Xplore.

Both Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Child Benefit (CHB) can be claimed alongside HB. UC claimants can receive CHB and, where applicable, receive the UC child element instead of CTC. CHB, CTC and UC are all in scope for the benefit cap, so households in receipt of these benefits or elements are more likely to exceed the cap limit and be capped if they are not exempt.

73% of households that have their benefits capped are single-parent families.

The majority of households capped continues to be single parents with children

Proportion of capped households by household type from February 2019 to August 2023

Source: Benefit Cap HB point in time caseload and UC point in time caseload statistics to August 2023, Stat Xplore.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a change in the characteristics of households capped on UC and HB, however, trends are now showing similar characteristics to those seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • the number of single parent households continued to increase quarter on quarter from 60% at February 2021 to 70% at August 2022. The figure then remained stable until May 2023, when it rose to 74%. It has remained broadly stable and as of August 2023 stands at 73% (61,000 households)

  • single-person households with no children steadily decreased from 16% at August 2021 to 13% at May 2022. After increasing slightly to 14% at February 2023, the single-person households with no children fell to 8,300 (10%) at May 2023. At August 2023 the figure is 8,700 (10%)

  • households of couples with children gradually decreased from 25% at February 2021 to 16% at February 2023. In May 2023 the figure rose slightly to 17%, however in the latest quarter the figure for households of couples with children is 13,400 (16%)

  • households of couples with no children account for a negligible amount of the total capped caseload, continuously accounting for between 0% and 0.1% since February 2019

Over half of all single-parent households capped on UC have a youngest child under the age of 5 at August 2023

Number of capped UC single parent households (thousands) by age of youngest child at August 2023

Source: DWP Universal Credit Quarterly Statistics, DWP Housing Benefit Caseload Statistics to August 2023.

Note: Information on the age of youngest child for capped Housing Benefit households has been suspended for this release of the Benefit Cap statistics.

At August 2023, 54% (33,000) of single-parent UC capped households have at least one child aged under 5 years, including 24% (15,000) with a child aged under 2 years.

The proportion of households claiming benefits that have their benefit capped (for UC and HB combined) was 1.3% at August 2023, which is the same as at last quarter (May 2023).

The proportion of UC claiming households that are capped is greatest in the English Local Authorities, especially in the south of England

Proportion of UC households capped at Local Authority level at August 2023

Source: DWP Universal Credit Quarterly Statistics and Benefit Cap UC point in time caseload statistics at August 2023, Stat-Xplore.

The proportion of households claiming UC that had their benefits capped at August 2023 was 1.5%, which is the same as the previous quarter (May 2023). The London region continues to have the highest proportion of UC households affected by the benefit cap, with 3.1% capped at August 2023, the same as at May 2023.

Of the 10 Local Authorities (LAs) with the highest proportion of UC households having their benefits capped at August 2023, 7 of them are in the London region, 2 are in the South East region and 1 is in the East of England. Of the 10 LAs with the highest proportion of UC households having their benefits capped, 8 were also in the top 10 LAs at May 2023.

At August 2023, Scotland remains the region with the lowest proportion of UC households capped at 0.5%, which is a decrease from 0.6% at May 2023.

The proportion of HB claiming households that are capped is greatest in English LAs

Proportion of HB households capped at Local Authority level at August 2023

Source: DWP Housing Benefit Caseload Statistics and Benefit Cap HB point in time caseload statistics at August 2023, Stat-Xplore.

Note: LAs which are shaded grey in the above maps could be due to several factors such as data being sparse and /or missing.

0.5% of working age households claiming HB had their benefits capped at August 2023, which is a decrease from 0.6% at last quarter (May 2023). The London region continues to have the highest proportion of HB households affected by the benefit cap, with 0.8% of households capped at August 2023, which is a decrease from 0.9% last quarter.

At August 2023, Scotland remains the region with the lowest proportion of HB households capped at 0.2%, the same as at May 2023.

4. The financial impact of being capped

Households had their benefits capped by an average of £51 per week at August 2023.

The weekly average (mean) amount capped at August 2023 was £51 (when combining HB and UC) which is a decrease from £52 last quarter (May 2023).

The average weekly amount capped for UC and HB combined has decreased by £1 at August 2023 when compared to last quarter

Weekly capped amount for UC and HB households from February 2019 to August 2023

Source: DWP Universal Credit Quarterly Statistics and DWP Housing Benefit Caseload Statistics.

The average amount that UC households are capped by is £223 per assessment period at August 2023. This is the equivalent of £51 per week. This is a decrease from £228 per assessment period, or £53 per week, at May 2023.

The average weekly amount that HB households are capped by is £52 at August 2023 which is an increase from £50 at May 2023.

Note: UC is assessed and paid monthly and the benefit cap is applied to the full UC award. For these statistics, a weekly cap equivalent has been calculated for UC households by dividing the amount a household has been capped by in an assessment period (which lasts one month) by 4.33.

The difference in average cap amounts across the two benefits may be affected by the differences in their caseload compositions and the different entitlement conditions across the benefits.

The benefit cap is applied to the full UC award not just to housing costs. Therefore, direct comparisons of cap amounts across HB and UC should not be made.

Proportion of UC capped households by cap amount at August 2023

At August 2023:

  • 62% (48,000) of households that had their UC capped were capped by the equivalent of £50 or less per week

  • 24% (19,000) were capped by the equivalent of £50.01 to £100 per week

  • 9% (6,700) were capped by the equivalent of £100.01 to £150 per week

  • 3% (2,500) were capped by the equivalent of £150.01 to £200 per week

  • 2% (1,600) were capped by the equivalent of more than £200 a week, including 0.4% (290) capped by the equivalent of more than £300 per week

6. About these statistics

Suspension of age of youngest child data for capped Housing Benefit households

Information on the age of youngest child for capped Housing Benefit households has been suspended from this release of the Benefit Cap statistics. This is due to an issue with the quality of the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) statistical Child Benefit data, which is currently being investigated. This issue only affects the Benefit Cap statistics and no other DWP statistical releases. We will reinstate the breakdown in the statistical series as soon as possible, in line with the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) Code of Practice for Statistics.

Disruption to Housing Benefit data

An interruption in the supply of data from Gloucester City Council has affected Housing Benefit statistics from December 2021. Data problems are unlikely to be fixed for the foreseeable future, and until then HB statistics that cover Gloucester will be derived from earlier data. This means estimates for South-West and Gloucester on Stat-Xplore will deteriorate in their quality and accuracy.

Housing benefit data covering the periods November 2020 to July 2021 were impacted by an interruption in the supply of data from Hackney Borough council. Hackney Borough Council have now resumed the supply of Housing Benefit data to DWP. Data from August 2021 is based on their most recent return. However, it should be noted that recovery work in Hackney is still ongoing, and therefore the statistics for the latest periods should be handled with caution.

Please note caveats and warnings in the accompanying ODS tables and Stat-Xplore where they appear.

Release schedule

The statistics are published quarterly in March, June, September, and December and are sourced from data originally collected via administrative systems.

Next release: 19 March 2024 (number of households capped to November 2023)

Status of these statistics

National, Official and Experimental Statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code).

In Spring 2023, the Chief Statistician for DWP led an internal review of all experimental official statistics produced by DWP. This is in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The review found that it was appropriate to remove the experimental label from the UC series in the Benefit Cap Statistics because it is no longer under development. As of 19 September 2023, the UC series in these statistics are also now classed as ‘official statistics’.

The statistics are compiled following the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value set out within the Code.

Rounding

Volumes and amounts have been rounded as detailed below. Percentages are calculated using numbers prior to rounding and rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

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

Data sources

Note UC statistics throughout this release refer to UCFS only. This is especially important to remember when looking at time series data.

Figures relating to households with their UC capped are subject to retrospection. All UC historic figures in these statistics have been updated as at August 2023. For more information, see the Background Information and Methodology document. The timeseries detailing weekly cap amount does not include retrospection.

The proportion capped figures have been calculated using working age HB and UC household figures obtained from Stat-Xplore. The total number of HB and UC capped households have been divided by the total number of working age households on HB and UC respectively to obtain these figures.

Data period

Figures relating to on-flows, newly capped and off-flows refer to the time period May 2023 to July 2023. Figures relating to remaining capped or returning to the cap refer to the time period May 2023 to August 2023. The difference is due to the methodology used to obtain outcome at off-flow (including households that flow from the HB cap to the UC cap), as it is not possible to obtain outcome data for August 2023, at August 2023.

Where to find out more

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

Read older releases of these statistics.

Read Background Information about these statistics.

Read statistics for households who have their benefits capped in Northern Ireland.

Read statistics on HB caseload.

Read statistics on UC.

Read statistics on Local Authorities’ use of Discretionary Housing Payment funds.

Read more information on the benefit cap.

7. User Engagement

Contact us for statistical enquiries and publication feedback only please.

Lead Statistician: Kate Walker

Producers: Michael Hatton

DWP Press Office: 0115 965 8781

ISBN 978-1-78659-611-6

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