Official Statistics

Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 10 October 2024

Official statistics for the number of claims, starts, people and households on Universal Credit.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Universal Credit deductions statistics, supplementary data tables

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Universal Credit childcare element statistics, supplementary data tables

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Universal Credit ethnicity statistics

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Universal Credit ethnicity statistics: back series

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Details

These official statistics contain data on:

  • the number of people who made a claim or started on Universal Credit to October 2024

  • the number of people who are on Universal Credit to October 2024

  • the number of households who are on Universal Credit to May 2024

Further information

See the background information and methodology note for guidance on these statistics, such as timeliness, uses, and procedures. 

Due to data processing issues, Universal Credit household elements of this publication will now be released via a revision on 28 November 2024. 

Universal Credit households Limited Capability for Work (LCW)/Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) and Disabled Child Entitlement breakdowns are will now be available again on Stat-Xplore. Work was carried out to resolve the issues and both previously affected measures are now part of the UC Households release on 28 November 2024. 

New UC ethnicity by conditionality statistics have become part of the Universal Credit Official Statistics release on 12 November 2024. These statistics are available as part of the existing UC ethnicity statistics in ODS format. 

New dedicated Universal Credit household deductions statistics are now part of the Universal Credit Official Statistics release on 12 November 2024. These new statistics have a dedicated statistical bulletin and its’ data is available in ODS format.

Universal Credit claims and starts breakdowns by postcode are no longer available from April 2022 onwards, due to missing geography data. The missing information has been captured and action is being taken to reinstate these breakdowns in future releases. Updates will be provided via Stat-Xplore and the gov.uk website.

Interactive tools

Software used for the interactive maps is no longer supported. These showed households on Universal Credit at the local authority level and people on Universal Credit at Jobcentre Plus level.

The interactive maps have therefore been withdrawn and a replacement is currently under development. Once completed and launched, the interactive tool (called Examine-a-Stat) will have improved functionality, including interactive maps, to better meet a wider range of user needs. It will be available in due course and the statistics are currently accessible on Stat-Xplore.

Pre-release access

In addition to staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, up to 24-hour pre-release access is provided to ministers and other officials. We publish the job titles and organisations of the people who have been granted up to 24-hour pre-release access to the latest Universal Credit statistics.

Updates to this page

Published 12 November 2024

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