Official Statistics

Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 10 October 2024

Updated 28 November 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

This bulletin contains highlights from official statistics on Universal Credit claims, starts, people and households (including payments, childcare and deductions) for Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales). It also provides context to emerging stories in the data. 

1. Main stories 

• there were 7.2 million people on Universal Credit in October 2024

• 76.5% of people on Universal Credit in October 2024 were from the white ethnic group. All other high-level ethnic groups combined totalled 23.5% of Universal Credit claimants in October 2024

• the proportion of people in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality regime (40%) continues to increase

• there were, on average, 57,000 claims and 52,000 starts per week in October 2024  

• Universal Credit households with children accounted for over half (52%) of all households with a payment in August 2024

• there were 165,000 households receiving the Universal Credit childcare element in August 2024

• there were 2.7 million Universal Credit households (45% of all Universal Credit households) that had one or more deductions taken from their Universal Credit entitlement in August 2024

2. What you need to know 

Universal Credit official statistics cover 4 series: 

• Claims: the number of people who have made a new claim for Universal Credit  

• Starts: the number of people who verify their identity and accept their claimant commitment 

• People: the number of people who start on Universal Credit and have no end date recorded 

• Households: the number of households who have a calculated entitlement for Universal Credit, including dedicated deduction statistics and childcare statistics 

The coronavirus pandemic impacted these statistics. Operational and policy changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic affected the time series for Universal Credit statistics. Therefore, we do not recommend making comparisons of statistics during the coronavirus period with trends, either before or after. 

Further guidance on these statistics is provided in the About these statistics section of this bulletin. 

3. People on Universal Credit 

In these statistics a person is counted as being on Universal Credit if they have accepted their claimant commitment, have a National Insurance number recorded and no end date to the claim for Universal Credit has been recorded. Not every person on Universal Credit will go on to have a calculated entitlement or receive a payment. 

Figures for the latest month are provisional and subject to small revisions when the next figures are released. For the previous 12 months, the average percentage change between provisional and revised figures was a decrease of 1%. 

There were 7.2 million people on Universal Credit in October 2024 

Figure 1: People on Universal Credit, Great Britain, October 2019 to October 2024 

People on Universal Credit, Great Britain, October 2019 to October 2024.

Note: (p) provisional 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit   

The number of people on Universal Credit in October 2024 was 7.2 million, the highest level it has ever been. This has been increasing since March 2022, when it was 5.5 million. 

The number of people on Universal Credit in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality regime continues to increase 

Claimants are required to do certain work-related activities to receive Universal Credit. These activities are set by which of the 6 conditionality regimes the claimant is placed in. The conditionality regime also determines the level of contact with the claimant, and the support that they will receive. More detail can be found in the About these statistics section of this bulletin.  

Figure 2: People on Universal Credit by conditionality regime, Great Britain, October 2019 to October 2024

People on Universal Credit by conditionality regime, Great Britain, October 2019 to October 2024.

Note: (p) provisional 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit  by conditionality regime 

As people move across from legacy benefits, the composition of people on Universal Credit continues to change. At first, Universal Credit was only available to working age individuals with no children who were seeking employment. Over time, Universal Credit was made available to people in different circumstances, including those migrating over from health-related legacy benefits. 

The number of people on Universal Credit in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime had a peak of 2.4 million in March 2021. Recently, the number of people on Universal Credit in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime has increased from 1.6 million in September 2024 to 1.7 million in October 2024. 

The number of people on Universal Credit in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality regime has been rising steadily, reaching 2.9 million in October 2024. This overtook ‘searching for work’ as the largest conditionality regime in April 2022 and is happening as people make new claims to Universal Credit and migrate across from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) as part of Move to UC.  

Recent changes seen in conditionalities should be seen in context with the latest rise in the Administrative Earnings Threshold , AET that took place in May 2024. 

58% of the people on Universal Credit in October 2024 were women 

Women made up 58% of the people on Universal Credit in October 2024, which is consistent with the 58% in October 2023. The proportion of women remains the highest it has been since the introduction of Universal Credit in 2013. 

Figure 3: People on Universal Credit by gender and conditionality regime, Great Britain, October 2024

People on Universal Credit by gender and conditionality regime, Great Britain, October 2024

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit by gender and conditionality regime  

There are more women than men in all conditionality regimes apart from ‘searching for work’. The increase in the proportion of people who are in the ‘no work requirements’ regime has contributed to the increase seen in the overall proportion of people on Universal Credit who are women. 

The average (median) age of people on Universal Credit is slowly rising. 

Figure 4: People on Universal Credit by age, Great Britain, October 2023 compared to October 2024

People on Universal Credit by gender and conditionality regime, Great Britain, October 2024

Note: (p) provisional 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit by age  

The median age of people on Universal Credit has increased from 38 in October 2023 to 39 as of October 2024. 

37% of the people on Universal Credit were in employment in September 2024 

Universal Credit is available to people on a low income as well as those who are out of work.  

These statistics define an individual as in employment if they receive employee earnings for the assessment period which includes the count date. The earnings data for each period can be received up to one month after the count date so they are not available until later than the other data on People on Universal Credit. For this reason, the statistics on employment are published a further month in arrears. 

Figure 5: People on Universal Credit in employment, Great Britain, September 2019 to September 2024

People on Universal Credit in employment, Great Britain, September 2019 to September 2024.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit by employment indicator   

There were 2.6 million people on Universal Credit in employment for September 2024, 37% of all people on Universal Credit. 

Any increase in the employment rate during the coronavirus pandemic should not be interpreted as more employment. It should be considered in the context of the policy changes, as more people in employment were eligible to receive Universal Credit as part of easements during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Figure 6: People on Universal Credit in employment by conditionality regime, Great Britain, September 2024

People on Universal Credit in employment by conditionality regime, Great Britain, September 2024.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, People on Universal Credit with employment indicator by conditionality regime 

A claimant’s conditionality regime is measured on the count date and may not represent their situation for the entire assessment period. Employment status is measured using employment earnings received during the assessment period that is active on the count date.  

Care should be taken when comparing employment rate and conditionality regime as they measure different aspects of someone’s work-related circumstances. For September 2024, 23% of claimants in ‘searching for work’ had earnings and were recorded as in employment because people with low earnings can be placed in this conditionality regime. To compare, 15% of people placed in the ‘working - no requirements’ conditionality regime were not in employment, usually due to earnings from the other adult in the home.  

The proportion of people in employment in each conditionality regime has been consistent despite the distribution of people in each conditionality group changing over time. 

Ethnicity statistics 

Universal Credit claimants are asked to answer optional equality questions when making their claim.  

In October 2024, 75.7% of Universal Credit claimants had provided information on their high-level ethnic group (5 options) or sub-group (18 options).

Therefore, Universal Credit ethnicity statistics should be treated with caution due to a degree of non-completion

See the background and methodology note for further information about this.  

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. 

Ethnicity representation is presented as percentage of known declarations, which provides the best estimate of ethnicity representation in the caseload and enables meaningful comparison across time. Some of these Ethnic groups have been aggregated in Universal Credit statistics for clarity of presentation and to harmonise with other government statistics. 

Figure 7: 76.5% of people on Universal Credit identified as belonging to the “White” ethnicity group in October 2024.

People on Universal Credit with ethnicity, Great Britain, October 2023 to October 2024

Note: (p) provisional 

Source: UC Collection Page - Latest Release, UC Ethnicity Statistics by ethnic group 

White is the largest, high-level ethnic group for Universal Credit claimants. 76.5% of those claiming Universal Credit in October 2024 were from the white ethnic group. The Asian/Asian British ethnicity group is the second largest with 10.4% of claimants in October 2024. The Black/African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity group accounts for 5.9% of claimants in October 2024, while the Other ethnic group accounts for 4.3%. The smallest ethnic group is the Mixed/Multiple with 2.9% of claimants in October 2024. 

The proportion of claimants from the white ethnic group decreased from 78.4% in October 2023 to 76.5% in October 2024. The proportion of claimants from the ‘Asian/Asian British’ ethnic group increased from 8.6% to 10.4%.   

Further detailed ethnic group categories are available in published data tables with this release of statistics. 

4. Claims and Starts to Universal Credit 

A claim is made when an individual applies for Universal Credit. 

This is the first step a person needs to take to receive Universal Credit. Not everyone who makes a claim will then start on Universal Credit as their circumstances may change and they may close their claim before completing the process. 

A person is counted as starting on Universal Credit when they have agreed their commitment requirements and had their identity verified. 

There were, on average, 57,000 claims and 52,000 starts per week in October 2024 

Figure 8: Claims and Starts to Universal Credit, average weekly rates, Great Britain, October 2022 to October 2024

Claims and Starts to Universal Credit, average weekly rates, Great Britain, October 2022 to October 2024.

Note: (p) provisional 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Claims on Universal Credit and DWP Stat-Xplore, Starts on Universal Credit monthly counts divided by interval between count dates 

There are seasonal highs and lows in the rates of claims and starts. For example, there are drops in December and January and rises in February. 

The average weekly rate of claims and starts in the 4 weeks to the count date in October 2024 was 57,000 claims and 52,000 starts each week. This is higher than in October 2023, where there were on average 53,000 claims and 43,000 starts.  

Work continues to move legacy benefit claimants across to Universal Credit (Move to UC), which leads to new Universal Credit claims. Read the latest Move to Universal Credit statistics. 

5. Households on Universal Credit  

Due to data processing issues the UC households elements of this publication on Stat-Xplore have been delayed until 28 November 2024. Users have been notified on both gov.uk and Stat-Xplore. 

A household is a single person or co-habiting couple with or without dependent children. This is also referred to as a benefit unit in other statistics. A household is counted as being on Universal Credit when they have an entitlement calculated for the assessment period which includes the count date. Not all households will be due a payment after adjustment for deductions, sanctions, or the benefit cap. This bulletin focuses on those households with a payment indicator, i.e. those that were due a payment of Universal Credit. 

The households series is produced three months in arrears. 

There were 5.9 million households on Universal Credit in August 2024  

Figure 9: Households on Universal Credit by payment indicator, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024

Households on Universal Credit by payment indicator, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024.

Note: (p) provisional (r) revised since last release 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit by payment indicator 

The number of households on Universal Credit is 5.9 million in August 2024, which is higher than the 5.2 million households in August 2023. 

The remaining statistics for households only look at those households with a payment indicator, showing they were due a payment. There were 5.4 million households with a payment in August 2024, 91% of all households on Universal Credit that month. 

The increase of households on Universal Credit in March 2020 coincides with the coronavirus pandemic. At this time, the households with no payment indicator also increased due to keeping £0 awards open. 

Over Half of households (52%) on Universal Credit with a payment had children in August 2024 

Figure 10: Households on Universal Credit with a payment by family type, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024

Households on Universal Credit with a payment by family type, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024.

Note: (p) provisional (r) revised since last release 

There was a methodology change affecting data from April 2019 onwards for this time series.  

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit with payment indicator by family type 

Households with children accounted for 52% of households on Universal Credit with a payment in August 2024. 

For households on Universal Credit with a payment there is a long-term upward trend in ‘Single with children’ family type. At first, Universal Credit was only available to new benefit claims from individuals with no children who were seeking employment. Over time, Universal Credit was made available to people in different circumstances. Also, existing claimants of legacy benefits, such as Child Tax Credit, are being transferred onto Universal Credit, either due to a change in circumstances or as part of managed migration.  

For those receiving a payment, the average Universal Credit amount was £990 in August 2024 

The amount of Universal Credit that a household is entitled to is based on the standard allowance and additional entitlements such as housing or childcare, plus any additional amounts such as an advance or mortgage interest payment. 

Benefit and pension rates increased from April 2024. This means the amount a household is entitled to based on the standard allowance and any additional entitlements has increased. 

There was an increase in the average payment amount in April 2020. Management information shows that there was an increase in the number of advances being paid in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. There was also a temporary increase in the standard allowance at this time which was then removed in October 2021. 

The amount paid to a household may be lower than their entitlement, for example, if a household is being sanctioned, limited by the benefit cap, or earning above the threshold so the taper rate is applied. 

Figure 11: Households on Universal Credit with a payment, average (mean) payment by family type, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024

Households on Universal Credit with a payment, average (mean) payment by family type, Great Britain, August 2019 to August 2024.

Note: (p) provisional (r) revised since last release 

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit with payment indicator by family type 

The average mean payment amount to households on Universal Credit varies by family type. For August 2024, the ‘Single no children’ family type had the lowest average payment amount of £720, while the highest average payment amount was £1,240 for the ‘Single with children’ family type. The mean payment across all households is £990. 

Recent increases seen in mean payment are due to the April 2024 benefit and pension rate changes that took effect. 

Figure 12: Households on Universal Credit with a payment, additional entitlements by family type, Great Britain, August 2024

Households on Universal Credit with a payment, additional entitlements by family type, Great Britain, August 2024.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit with payment indicator, entitlements by family type 

Households on Universal Credit can be entitled to a range of additional entitlements on top of the standard allowance to support costs for children, childcare, housing, health and disabilities, and carers. Households can be entitled to more than one of these additional entitlements. 

Please note that childcare entitlement statistical breakdowns are no longer covered in this UCOS bulletin. Please see our Universal Credit childcare element statistics to access these statistics. 

Most households in each family type have a housing entitlement. Households with the ‘Couple no children’ family type have the highest proportion for the carer entitlement.  

Nearly all households received some or all their payment on time in July 2024 

Statistics on payment timeliness are produced 4 months in arrears to avoid large revisions to provisional figures caused by retrospection. This is to allow for more accurate and higher quality statistics. 

These figures are subject to revision and any conclusions or comparisons, particularly using the most recent month, should be made with caution. 

In July 2024, 99% of households with a payment were paid all or some of their payment on time for all successful claims. This figure has been largely consistent since April 2020. 

In July 2024, 96% received all of their payment on time for all successful claims. 

In July 2024, 86% of new successful claims received their first payment in full and on time 

Figure 13: Households on Universal Credit with a payment, payment timeliness on new successful claims, Great Britain, July 2022 to July 2024

Households on Universal Credit with a payment, payment timeliness on new successful claims, Great Britain, July 2022 to July 2024.

Note: (p) provisional (r) revised since last release 

Source: (Stat-Xplore, Households on Universal Credit) with payment indicator by payment timeliness 

Payment timeliness is lower for new successful claims in comparison to all successful claims. There are several one-off verification processes that must be completed by the claimant and by DWP at the start of the claim. These are to confirm the current circumstances of the claimant (or both claimants in a joint claim) and their entitlement to Universal Credit. Delays to completion of these processes can cause payments not to be made on time. 

For new successful claims in July 2024 (claims in their first assessment period on the count date), 86% received all their payment on time, 93% received at least some of their payment on time and 7% did not receive any payment on time. 

Universal Credit Deductions 

Please note that UC deduction statistical breakdowns are not covered in this UCOS bulletin. Please see our Universal Credit deduction statistics to access these statistics.

6. Related statistics 

This publication complements other statistics bulletins that, together, provide a more coherent view of Universal Credit claimants and awards, and other benefits. 

Benefit sanctions includes statistics on people having their award stopped or reduced for not meeting their agreed conditions. 

Benefit Cap includes statistics on households who have had their Universal Credit award capped because their total amount received in benefits is higher than the maximum amount of benefits a household can receive. 

Benefit Combination includes statistics as part of the quarterly DWP benefits 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, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The latest release included PIP, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) award levels. The latest release can be found on Stat-Xplore. 

UC Work Capability Assessments provides statistics that cover the number of people on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work. 

DWP benefits provides statistics for benefits that Universal Credit is replacing. 

Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children for Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits. 

Fraud and error in the benefit system provides estimates of the number of households that may have been paid too much Universal Credit or not enough. These overpayments and underpayments happen as a consequence of fraud; claimant error; and official error (processing errors or delays by DWP, a Local Authority, or His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system’ estimates how much money the department incorrectly pays. 

Universal Credit statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Communities (Northern Ireland). 

Claimant Count is a measure of the number of people claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed, based on administrative data from the benefits system. It includes people on Universal Credit in the searching for work conditionality regime for the United Kingdom. Universal Credit statistics uses the same data excluding Northern Ireland. 

European Social Fund 2014 to 2020 is an EU-funded employment, skills and social inclusion programme across England aimed at providing the help people need to achieve their potential. This publication uses Universal Credit data to show how many people who started on the programme were on Universal Credit. 

7. About these statistics 

The number of people and households reported are those at a particular count date each calendar month. The count dates are the second Thursday of each month. The number of claims and starts reported are those occurring between count dates, and they are reported against the month of the later count date. The time between count dates is either 4 or 5 weeks exactly, depending on when the count date falls in each calendar month. 

These statistics are classified as Official Statistics.  

What is Universal Credit? 

Universal Credit is a single payment for each household to help with living costs for those on a low income or out of work. It is replacing 6 benefits, commonly referred to as the legacy benefits. 

Support for housing costs, children and childcare costs are integrated into Universal Credit. It also provides additional support for people with a disability, health condition, or caring responsibilities which may prevent them from working. 

Payments are contingent on certain work-related activities being carried out depending on the outcome of the claimant assessment. Payment amounts can be reduced for a variety of reasons, such as sanctions, debt repayment, removal of spare room subsidy, or the taper for earnings above the work allowance. 

Conditionality Regimes 

All people on Universal Credit are placed into one of six conditionality groups, depending on their personal circumstances. Which of these groups they are placed into will determine what activities they are required to do (if any) as part of their claim and the level of contact and support they receive. Universal Credit statistics uses the term conditionality regime in place of ‘conditionality group’ and ‘labour market regime’.  

Different members of the same household may be subject to the same or different requirements. As circumstances change claimants will also transition between different levels of conditionality. This means that there is a ‘flow’ of claimants between these groups. 

The table below shows the circumstances of individuals for each conditionality regime and the associated group and labour market regime. 

Conditionality regime	Description	Conditionality Group	Labour Market Regime
Searching for work	Not working, or with very low earnings. Claimant is required to take action to secure work - or more or better paid work. The Work Coach supports them to plan their work search and preparation activity. Typical examples of people in this regime include jobseekers and self-employed in start-up period. Claimants are only in this regime if they do not fit into one of the other regimes.	All work-related requirements	Intensive Work Search
Working – with requirements	In work, but could earn more, or not working but has a partner with low earnings.	All work-related requirements	Light touch
No work requirements	Not expected to work at present. Health or caring responsibility prevents claimant from working or preparing for work. Examples of people on this regime include those in full time education, over state pension age, has a child under 1 and those with no prospect for work.	No work-related requirements	No work-related requirements
Working – no requirements	Individual or household earnings over the level at which conditionality applies. Required to inform DWP of changes or circumstances, particularly at risk of earnings decreasing or job loss.	No work-related requirements	Working enough
Planning for work	Expected to work in the future/Lead parent or lead carer of child aged 1 (aged 1 to 2, prior to April 2017). Claimant required to attend periodic interviews to plan for their return to work.	Work focused interview	Work focused interview
Preparing for work	Expected to start work in the future even with limited capability to work at the present time or a child aged 2 (aged 3 to 4, prior to April 2017). Claimant expected to take reasonable steps to prepare for working including Work Focused Interview.	Work preparation	Work preparation

Universal Credit full service 

Full service is the digital system that offers Universal Credit the full range of claimant groups. It was gradually introduced to Jobcentres from 2016 and was available in every Jobcentre across Great Britain and Northern Ireland by December 2018. When full service became available in a Jobcentre, existing Universal Credit claimants on live service were transferred to full service within 3 months. Prior to full service, Universal Credit was restricted to mostly single working age people seeking work with no children. These people were moved onto full service by March 2019. 

Where to find out more 

Information on these statistics is available in the following documents: 

• background information and methodology 

• background quality report 

• Quality Assurance of Administrative Data report 

• release strategy 

Detailed guidance on the policy and operational aspects of Universal Credit:  

• Understanding Universal Credit 

• Universal Credit guides 

Data sources and limitations 

These official statistics have been compiled using data in systems used by the department in the administration of Universal Credit and records of Universal Credit benefit payments made by the department. 

While every effort is made to collect data to the highest quality, as with all administrative data it is dependent on the accuracy of information entered into the system. Checks are made throughout the process from collection of the data to producing the statistics, but some data entry or processing errors may filter through to the data used to produce the statistics. The quality assurance of administrative data report provides quality assessments on the data sources used in these statistics. 

The proportion of ethnicity responses by Universal Credit claimants is now above our minimum reporting threshold of 70%. This is largely due to the re-prompting exercise with claimants that had previously left it unanswered that took place in December 2023. The required methodological threshold has been met since February 2023. As a result, ethnicity statistics are now published each month as part of Universal Credit Official Statistics.  

As Universal Credit continues to develop, caution should be used when interpreting statistics over long time periods. Administrative system changes could cause discontinuities in the time series that were not the result of a policy decision or the economic environment. 

To support households through the coronavirus pandemic, policy and operational changes were made to Universal Credit. These have had an impact on the time series for Universal Credit statistics. 

A full discussion of strengths and limitations is in the background information and methodology. 

Release schedule 

The bulletin is published quarterly in February, May, August, and November, supplemented by monthly data updates for People on Universal Credit statistics in Stat-Xplore. 

Next release of People on Universal Credit: 17 December 2024 

Next release for Claims, Starts, Households, Deductions and Childcare on Universal Credit: 18 February 2025 

All releases for Universal Credit statistics can be found in the Universal Credit statistics collection. 

Compliance check against the Code of Practice for Statistics 

These statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for statistics. 

A compliance check was conducted on Universal Credit statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation in May 2019 and we have acted on their recommendations to improve the presentation and user understanding of these statistics. 

Rounding 

Volumes and amounts have been rounded as detailed in the background information and methodology document. Percentages are calculated using numbers prior to rounding and rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. 

Revisions 

Universal Credit statistics are subject to scheduled revisions as detailed in the background information and methodology document. 

8. Contacts 

Lead Statistician: Lee McGargill 

Feedback on the content, relevance, accessibility and timeliness of these statistics and any non-media enquiries should be directed to: 

Email: team.ucos@dwp.gov.uk 

For media enquiries on these statistics, please contact the DWP press office 

For statistics enquiries only. These contact details are unable to provide any information or assistance with claiming Universal Credit. 

ISBN: 978-1-78659-777-9