Accredited official statistics

DWP benefits statistics: February 2025

Updated 28 February 2025

This is a summary of the Accredited Official Statistics about the benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The next statistics-only release will be 13 May 2025 on Stat-Xplore, with the next statistical summary release planned for August 2025.

1. Headlines

The main headline figures for the DWP benefits in this report

From August 2023 to August 2024:

• the number of people receiving the State Pension increased by 1.6% to 13 million

• Employment and Support Allowance fell by 5.7% to 1.5 million claimants

• Income Support fell by 71.1% to 40,000 claimants

• Jobseeker’s Allowance increased by 6.7% to 94,000 claimants

From November 2023 to November 2024:

• Housing Benefit fell by 14.8% to 2 million claims

Universal Credit has been replacing some older-style Working Age benefits. The latest Universal Credit Official statistics show:

• there were 7.4 million Universal Credit claimants at December 2024

People can claim more than one DWP benefit at a time. Benefit Combination statistics show:

24 million people claimed some combination of DWP benefits at August 2024 (of the 17 benefits included in these statistics). Of these:

• 13 million were of State Pension Age (including those in receipt of their State Pension)

• 9.9 million were of Working Age

• 750,000 were under 16 (and in receipt of Disability Living Allowance as a child)

DWP benefits by number of claims at August 2024

Benefit	Number of claimants
State Pension	12,969,000
Universal Credit	6,969,000
Personal Independence Payment *	3,515,000
Housing Benefit	2,149,000
Attendance Allowance	1,798,000
Employment and Support Allowance	1,494,000
Carers Allowance	1,439,000
Pension Credit	1,361,000
Disability Living Allowance*	1,291,000
Jobseeker’s Allowance	94,000
Income Support	40,000

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Figures annotated with a star (*) (Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance) exclude figures for Scotland. Please see Section 5 for details.

Figures for Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payments and Housing Benefit covering later periods are available on Stat-Xplore.

Number of live claims of DWP benefits at August 2024, with changes against the previous quarter (May 2024) and previous year (August 2023)

Benefit	Number of claimants	Change Since Last Quarter	Change Since Last Year
State Pension	12,969,000	+56,000	+203,000
Universal Credit	6,969,000	+211,000	+926,000
Personal Independence Payment*	3,515,000	+117,000	+400,000
Housing Benefit	2,149,000	-120,000	-221,000
Attendance Allowance	1,798,000	+42,000	+136,000
Employment and Support Allowance	1,494,000	-24,000	-90,000
Carers Allowance	1,439,000	+9,000	+62,000
Pension Credit	1,361,000	+5,000	-15,000
Disability Living Allowance*	1,291,000	+16,000	+51,000
Jobseekers Allowance	94,000	+2,000	+6,000
Income Support	40,000	-73,000	-99,000

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Figures in the above table are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Figures annotated with a star (*) (Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance) exclude figures for Scotland. Please see Section 5 for details.

Figures for Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payments and Housing Benefit covering later periods are available on Stat-Xplore.

2. What you need to know

This release covers DWP benefits in Great Britain. For most benefits covered in this release the period covered is up to August 2024. For Bereavement Support Payment the period covered is up to September 2024, and for Housing Benefit data go up to November 2024. UC figures are presented to August 2024 for claimants and November 2024 for households.

More detailed figures for the benefits covered in this summary can be found using Stat-Xplore. This is an online tool that lets you create and download customised statistical tables or view the results as interactive charts.

The Scotland Act 2016 gave Scottish Parliament powers over a number of social security benefits effectively transferring policy ownership from DWP to the Scottish Government. More details are available in Section 5 of this summary.

Benefit Combinations statistics explore how benefits are claimed in combination for claimants of all ages. In response to Scottish Devolution, important presentational changes have been made to this series. For more details see the Benefit Combinations Background information note.

More information on how these statistics are produced is available through the Methodology statement and Quality statement.

Move to Universal Credit

Universal Credit (UC) has been available in all parts of the UK since December 2018, for people who make new benefit claims, who claim because their circumstances change ‘natural migration’ or who choose to move from legacy benefits to UC ‘voluntary migration’.

Eventually, all remaining legacy benefit claimants will be contacted by the DWP and told they must claim UC to continue to receive means-tested support ‘managed migration’.

In 2024 to 2025 the DWP contacted all claimants receiving combinations of benefits that included Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance that included Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit. DWP planned to send migration notices to these households – around 440,000 in total – by September 2024, with a three-month contingency to December 2024.

The managed migration of around 800,000 claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) only, or incomed-related ESA and Housing Benefit, has been brought forward, having previously been delayed to 2028 to 2029. The DWP began sending migration notices to these claimants in September 2024 and aims to notify all claimants in this cohort by December 2025.

The DWP plans to move all legacy benefit claimants to UC by March 2026, completing the UC rollout and closing all legacy benefits by this date.

Managed migration involves claimants being sent a migration notice by the DWP telling them that their legacy benefit awards will end and that they must make a claim for UC to continue to get support. The deadline for claiming for the vast majority of cases must be at least three months from the date of the migration notice, and it can be extended if there is a good reason. Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 laid on 6 January 2024 and brought into force on 27 January 2024, made provision for DWP to issue a shorter migration notice for customers whose tax credit eligibility is reinstated before tax credits close. This is to ensure claimants are given transitional protection when they move to UC.

A person’s entitlement to legacy benefits/tax credits ends when they claim UC, or on the day before their deadline if they have not claimed UC. Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Housing Benefit continue to be paid for two weeks after entitlement ends.

For more information on Move to UC please see Move to UC. For Move to UC statistics please see Move to UC statistics.

3. Pensions

State Pension

People receiving State Pension, by pension type, to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics.

The State Pension caseload has increased modestly over the last year. There were 13 million people receiving the State Pension at August 2024, an increase of 200,000 on a year earlier. In December 2018, the State Pension Age was raised above 65 for both men and women, initially resulting in fewer new claims. However, since October 2020 the minimum State Pension Age has stood at 66 years. A further raising of the State Pension Age will begin from 2026.

The new State Pension (nSP) was introduced for people reaching State Pension Age from 6 April 2016. At August 2024 there were 4.3 million people receiving nSP, an increase of 710,000 on a year earlier.

New State Pension

Comparison of average weekly amounts of State Pension by type and gender at August 2024

State Pension scheme	Male	Female
New State Pension	£209.52	£205.23
Pre-2016 State Pension	£217.30	£186.44

Source: DWP benefits statistics

At August 2024 the average (mean) weekly payment for people receiving a State Pension (both nSP and pre-2016 State Pension claimants) was £201.95, an increase of £17.07 since August 2023.

The nSP mean weekly payment was £207.64 at August 2024 (including any Protected Payments). Under the pre-2016 system the mean amount was £199.12 per week.

The introduction of nSP has evened out some of the gap between the average weekly payments for men and women, as women tend to get more under the new rules than under the Pre-2016 rules. However, due to earlier timetabled increases in women’s State Pension Age fewer women have joined the nSP than men.

Pension Credit

At August 2024, there were 1.4 million people receiving Pension Credit, representing a total of 1.5 million beneficiaries including partners.

A comparison of Pension Credit recipients by payment type and gender at August 2024

Type of Pension Credit	Male	Female
Guarantee Credit only	266,000	501,000
Savings Credit only	62,000	109,000
Both Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit	131,000	292,000

Source: DWP benefits statistics

At August 2024, two thirds (66%) of people getting Pension Credit (PC) were women. There were 15,000 fewer recipients against the previous year. A long-term downward trend in the PC caseload has been due to the raising of the State Pension Age and the introduction of new State Pensions (nSP) in April 2016, among other factors. However, since February 2022, the PC caseload appears to have stabilised.

Users should note that the announcement affecting eligibility for Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) occurred in July 2024. As of winter 2024 to 2025, households in England and Wales are no longer entitled to WFP unless they receive PC or certain other means-tested benefits. The PC statistics in this release show the number of claimants receiving PC on the last day of August 2024.

4. Housing

Housing Benefit

Housing Benefits claims by age group to November 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

At November 2024, there were 2 million claims receiving Housing Benefit (HB), a decrease of 350,000 on the last year. There were 1.1 million Pension Age and 880,000 Working Age claims. The number of Working Age recipients will continue to fall as claimants move to Universal Credit. By comparison, 3.9 million households had a housing element as part of their UC assessment, of which 3.7 million were in payment at November 2024.

Housing Benefit claims by sector at November 2024

Sector	Number of claims
Private Rented Sector	370,000
Social Rented Sector	1,620,000

Source: DWP benefits statistics

82% of HB claims (1.6 million) were tenants in the Social Rented Sector and 18% were in the Private Rented Sector (370,000).

Average HB awards in the private rented sector have gone up by £8.04 from November 2023 to November 2024. The average weekly award for private rented claims was £148.91 at November 2024. This compares to £136.49 for the social rented sector.

As of November 2024, 15% (130,000) of Working Age HB claims had a reduction to their weekly award amount due to the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy scheme. This is where tenants in social housing whose accommodation is deemed to be larger than they need may lose part of their HB award. The average reduction amount was £19.13.

5. Health, disability and care

Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance

The Scotland Act 2016 gave Scottish Parliament powers over a number of social security benefits effectively transferring policy ownership from DWP to the Scottish Government.

Child Disability Payment is a new disability benefit administered by the Scottish Government. It replaces Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children living in Scotland. In November 2021, Child Disability Payment launched nationwide to all new applicants. The Adult Disability Payment was introduced in pilot areas from March 2022 and nationally in Scotland from August 2022. It will replace Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and DLA for Working Age people in Scotland.

We are in a transitional period, where DWP still administers DLA and PIP to people in Scotland who are waiting to move onto the new benefits. However, it does so on behalf of the Scottish Government under an agreement and policy ownership has been transferred.

In light of the new benefits, which are being administered away from DWP, we have changed how we present DLA and PIP statistics in this release and Stat-Xplore.

Our DWP benefits statistics summaries now focus on DLA and PIP claims where policy ownership has been retained by DWP. Figures, charts and narratives will primarily reflect England, Wales and any unknown or abroad claims. The residual count of DLA claims in Scotland will be provided for information only, where relevant.

To reflect these changes on Stat-Xplore we added a new split to DLA geography fields to provide breakdowns based on policy ownership. Users of these statistics should make data selections based on these policy ownership lines. Please refer to the Background information note for further background information.

Statistics showing the number of applications and awards to the new Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment have been released by the Scottish Government.

DLA and PIP cases with entitlement by policy ownership at August 2024

Policy Ownership	DLA	PIP
DWP policy ownership	1,291,000	3,515,000
Policy devolved to Scotland	72,000	112,000
All claims administered by DWP	1,364,000	3,627,000

Source: DWP benefits statistics

There were 4.8 million people claiming either PIP or DLA under DWP policy ownership at August 2024, an increase of 450,000 during the last year.

The number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance under DWP policy ownership to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

As detailed above, to maintain comparability, each quarter in this series represents a count reflecting current DWP policy ownership, excluding Scotland.

Since 2013, Working Age adults have been moving from DLA to PIP. This has led to an increase in the number of people claiming PIP and a decrease in the number of Working Age people claiming DLA over time.

At August 2024, excluding policy devolved to Scotland, there were 3.5 million people claiming PIP, the number of claimants increased by 400,000 (13%) between August 2023 and August 2024.

There were 1.3 million people claiming DLA, with claims rising by 51,000 from August 2023 to August 2024. Of the 1.3 million DLA claimants, a small number (8,200) were entitled to DLA but did not receive any payment (figures exclude Scotland). For example, payments can be temporarily suspended if the claimant is in hospital.

Attendance Allowance

At August 2024 in Great Britain, there were 1.8 million Attendance Allowance (AA) claimants, an increase of 140,000 from August 2023.

The number of people receiving Attendance Allowance Payments and those with entitlement-only to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

1.7 million claimants were receiving a payment and 130,000 (7%) were entitled to the benefit but not receiving payment. As with DLA above, AA payments can be temporarily suspended. This can happen, for example, if the claimant is in hospital.

Employment and Support Allowance

There were 1.5 million people on Employment and Support Allowance at August 2024, a decrease of 90,000 since August 2023.

Employment and Support Allowance claims by type to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Of the 1.5 million Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants:

• 1.3 million are in the Support group

• 120,000 are in the Work-Related Activity group

• 43,000 are in the Assessment phase

• 550,000 ESA claimants are former Incapacity Benefit cases who have been migrated

Over recent years, the number of ESA claims has been decreasing because UC has replaced ESA for new income-related claims on the grounds of incapacity. Since August 2023, the number of people claiming ESA has decreased by 6% (90,000). The number of people claiming contributions-based ESA at August 2024 was 440,000, an increase of 13,000 against August 2023. The number of people claiming income-related ESA at August 2024 was 650,000, an decrease of 75,000 on August 2023. Remaining claimants either claim both contributions-based and income-related ESA, or receive credits only.

In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were put in place to process claims and ensure those eligible received their benefit while keeping customers and staff safe. See the DWP Benefit statistics background information note for more information

Figures for other incapacity benefits are available on Stat-Xplore.

Carer’s Allowance

The total number of people claiming Carer’s Allowance at August 2024 was 1.4 million, 5% higher than at August 2023.

The number of Carer’s Allowance claimants by age group to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Of the total number claiming Carer’s Allowance (CA) at August 2024, 23% (330,000) were above State Pension Age and 77% (1.1 million) were Working Age.

Of the total number claiming Carer’s Allowance (CA) at August 2024, 28% (410,000) were entitled to the benefit but do not receive payments. This is because they receive another benefit (such as Incapacity Benefit for people of Working Age, or State Pension for people of State Pension age) which equals or exceeds their weekly rate of CA. Where the overlapping benefit paid is less than the weekly rate of CA, only the amount of CA which exceeds the amount of the overlapping benefit is paid.

Recipients of Carer’s Allowance in Scotland are eligible for Carer’s Allowance Supplement (CAS), which is payable once every 6 months.

CAS statistics are released by the Scottish Government.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

The total number of people claiming under the Industrial Injuries Scheme at June 2024 was 230,000.

The Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS) provides non-contributory no-fault benefits for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs. Please see the IIDB technical guidance for more information on the scheme.

Of the total number claiming under this scheme at June 2024, 170,000 claimed Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) alone, 32,000 claimed IIDB with Reduced Earnings Allowance and Retirement Allowance and 29,000 claimed Reduced Earnings Allowance and Retirement Allowance only.

In the quarter ending June 2024 there were 2,600 new claims under the IIS and 2,900 assessments were completed. Of the completed assessments, 1,100 resulted in a payable award.

In September 2024 under the Pneumoconiosis (Worker’s Compensation) Act 1979, £3.8 million was awarded to 240 claimants. Under the 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme, £1.4 million was awarded to 60 claimants.

Further breakdowns are available on Stat-Xplore.

6. Other Working Age benefits

The number of people claiming Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance to August 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Between August 2012 and March 2020, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) fell substantially. Universal Credit has been replacing income-based JSA since April 2013. The JSA scheme is now only open to contributory-based claims called New Style JSA. New Style JSA awards have a maximum duration of 182 days.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, claims for JSA went up substantially, but have since fallen below pre-pandemic levels. There were 94,000 JSA claimants at August 2024.

Caution should also be taken when comparing ethnicity representation over time, because changes in response rate may impact this. Additionally, the balance of ethnicity diversity across the general population varies by geographical location and by age group, so changes in other demographics may have an impact to the ethnicity trends. For more information see the Background information note.

Income Support

Universal Credit has replaced Income Support (IS) and new applications for IS can no longer be made to DWP. For more on the eligibility criteria for existing claims please see Income Support information.

At August 2024, the total number of people claiming IS was 40,000, a decrease of 99,000 (71%) since August 2023. Managed migration to Universal Credit has begun for IS claimants. Please see Move to Universal Credit for details and the Move to Universal Credit Statistics publication to understand how the IS caseload has been impacted.

Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment recipients by rate of payment to September 2024

Source: DWP benefits statistics

Since April 2017, the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) increased steadily, peaking at 58,000 recipients in April 2021. At September 2024, there were 51,000 people receiving BSP. 39,000 (78%) were receiving the standard rate of BSP, while 11,000 (22%) were receiving the higher rate. The higher rate is paid to claimants entitled to Child Benefit. BSP was introduced in April 2017 and replaced Widowed Parents Allowance, Bereavement Allowance and the Bereavement Payment.

On 9 February 2023, Bereavement Support Payment eligibility was extended to unmarried cohabiting parents bereaved on or after 6 April 2017 who were living together on the date of death. Previously it was only available to eligible bereaved parents who were married or in a civil partnership. Depending on the circumstances of the claim, newly eligible claimants may receive a backdated lump sum payment back to 30 August 2018 (the date that eligibility was extended back to). For more information on the extension of Bereavement Benefits eligibility, see the DWP’s press release.

7. About these statistics

This is a summary of the latest Accredited Official Statistics about the benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Data are released on a quarterly basis in:

• February

• May

• August

• November

This summary is released every February and August.

Figures in this bulletin are rounded in accordance with the DWP rounding policy for statistics, details of which can be found in the “Rounding” section of the Background information note. Unrounded figures from the underlying data available on Stat-Xplore or in accompanying tables may not sum exactly to the rounded totals accordingly.

These Accredited Official Statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in November 2020.

They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.

The designation of ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ is in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

The statistics in the DWP benefits statistics release, and those used in this statistical summary, are all Accredited Official Statistics, except:

• Universal Credit (Official Statistics)

• Benefit Combinations (Official Statistics)       

• Housing Benefit Flows (Official Statistics)

• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (Official Statistics)

• Bereavement Support Payment (Official Statistics)

Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the Code of Practice for Statistics and meet high standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

The statistics in this publication are affected by the introduction of Universal Credit. Universal Credit was introduced in April 2013 in certain pathfinder areas of North West England. Between October 2013 and December 2018, Universal Credit was progressively rolled out and is now available in every jobcentre across the country.

Universal Credit is replacing:

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Housing Benefit for Working Age claimants

• Income Support

• Working Tax Credit

• Child Tax Credit

Please see Universal Credit statistics for information on the number of people and households on Universal Credit.

Information on the following benefits is published separately:

• Benefit Sanctions statistics

• Child Support Agency statistics

• Maternity Allowance statistics

Where to find out more

Find previous releases of this data.

More detailed statistical tables covering all Accredited Official Statistics for DWP benefits can be found using Stat-Xplore. This is an online tool that lets you create and download customised statistical tables, and view the results in interactive charts.

Data tables are provided where data is not available on Stat-Xplore.

Benefit Combination Statistics are included as part of the quarterly DWP benefits statistics collection, and allow users to view the combinations of benefits that people claim at a point in time for almost all benefits administered by DWP. The latest release published on 18 February 2025 can be found on Stat-Xplore.

Read our policies and statements for background information on DWP Accredited Official Statistics and Official benefits statistics, including some of the processes involved in developing and releasing these statistics.

8. Contact information and feedback

For more information about this release, contact: benefits.statistics@dwp.gov.uk.

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications. If you use any of our statistics publications, we would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements. Email benefits.statistics@dwp.gov.uk with your feedback.

You can also join the ‘Welfare, Wellbeing and Housing’ statistics community on StatsUserNet. DWP announces items of interest to users in this forum, as well as replying to users’ questions.

Authors: C Mejury, M Brown, G Mclean and O Jenkinson

Lead statistician: Tonia Hagan

ISBN: 978-1-78659-656-7