What do the Universal Credit and Scottish benefits data measure?

The table measures monthly claimant counts, starts and average monthly awards for Universal Credit in Great Britain alongside application outcomes for the Scottish Child Payment.

Which Universal Credit breakdowns are available for Great Britain?

DWP series break down Great Britain claimants by conditionality regime, employment status, gender and household composition, such as single claimants or couples with and without children.

What Scottish social security measures are included?

The Scottish series track Scottish Child Payment applications received, processed, authorised, denied and withdrawn by Social Security Scotland.

How far back do these Universal Credit monthly series go?

Administrative figures for Universal Credit in Great Britain are published monthly by the Department for Work and Pensions with continuous coverage since 2013.

Universal Credit and Scottish benefits

Name: Universal Credit and Scottish benefits
Creator: Department for Work and Pensions — Stat-Xplore; Scottish Government and Revenue Scotland (data.gov.scot)
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Monthly caseloads of the UK's main working-age benefit and of the Scottish benefits built on top of it: people and households on Universal Credit by conditionality regime, employment status and family type, with the average award and new starts (DWP), and applications and payments of the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start grants (Social Security Scotland).

Source: Department for Work and Pensions — Stat-Xplore; Scottish Government and Revenue Scotland (data.gov.scot)Last updated: Sep 24, 2026, 19:10Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023	07-2023	06-2023
Universal Credit, Great Britain (DWP)4
People on Universal Credit3		8,359,744	8,316,522	8,289,214	8,341,941	8,322,836	8,343,654	8,302,781	8,207,815	8,117,635	8,041,126	7,933,923	7,851,487	7,736,489	7,679,452	7,595,104	7,515,081	7,391,758	7,355,479	7,276,174	7,163,713	7,078,809	6,968,805	6,904,613	6,844,817	6,757,645	6,677,225	6,598,882	6,458,747	6,359,305	6,311,416	6,220,120	6,160,471	6,096,218	6,043,174	6,011,281	5,965,194
People on Universal Credit, by conditionality regime6
Searching for work		1,566,200	1,561,136	1,570,229	1,570,418	1,523,828	1,520,100	1,527,533	1,538,067	1,544,940	1,552,438	1,557,244	1,586,578	1,581,627	1,597,562	1,628,833	1,635,262	1,586,612	1,589,126	1,606,806	1,625,410	1,640,247	1,642,958	1,649,144	1,513,141	1,479,140	1,466,654	1,479,582	1,466,805	1,426,442	1,424,362	1,412,635	1,400,387	1,401,463	1,405,619	1,421,741	1,412,823
Working, with requirements		863,968	872,872	867,417	880,986	886,064	900,146	901,348	892,422	901,223	925,382	927,741	928,910	916,675	930,266	931,218	923,148	903,368	918,821	932,770	916,606	894,694	871,740	848,567	1,001,809	992,217	970,823	957,662	920,486	889,541	906,113	827,990	768,606	761,298	760,993	756,835	804,273
No work requirements		4,267,212	4,241,853	4,221,849	4,209,166	4,179,876	4,167,476	4,121,618	4,024,446	3,918,984	3,818,450	3,703,021	3,602,971	3,476,799	3,393,105	3,297,475	3,212,539	3,104,566	3,056,118	2,988,868	2,896,501	2,825,720	2,739,038	2,674,440	2,617,490	2,550,762	2,500,825	2,454,375	2,388,625	2,335,464	2,305,499	2,262,422	2,237,674	2,196,691	2,151,499	2,117,720	2,074,005
Working, no requirements		1,188,341	1,163,583	1,149,405	1,196,312	1,246,748	1,267,631	1,260,281	1,258,677	1,257,996	1,250,197	1,255,780	1,244,200	1,281,503	1,281,298	1,262,134	1,273,161	1,333,944	1,326,420	1,279,822	1,253,905	1,243,368	1,235,242	1,250,090	1,224,980	1,252,868	1,258,597	1,225,474	1,204,164	1,234,884	1,202,164	1,243,678	1,279,445	1,263,383	1,244,531	1,238,431	1,200,483
Planning for work		87,692	89,172	89,988	90,968	91,489	92,336	94,264	95,758	97,085	98,270	98,765	100,441	99,940	100,538	102,132	102,019	101,636	103,069	104,977	107,075	108,413	109,864	110,155	111,696	110,183	109,721	110,714	110,691	110,076	110,935	112,599	113,319	113,796	115,131	115,764	117,109
Preparing for work		386,040	387,455	389,771	393,797	394,549	395,689	397,433	398,068	397,106	396,124	391,061	388,094	379,598	376,391	373,020	368,664	361,298	361,622	362,612	363,865	366,059	369,558	371,886	375,361	372,055	370,177	370,715	367,507	362,509	361,993	360,153	360,496	359,042	364,586	360,272	355,938
People on Universal Credit, by employment status4
Not in employment or self-employment			5,177,584	5,173,890	5,223,325	5,174,660	5,138,629	5,084,828	5,016,045	4,940,195	4,853,110	4,721,779	4,633,406	4,532,673	4,461,078	4,377,612	4,323,803	4,193,545	4,107,492	4,045,378	3,961,663	3,917,285	3,834,539	3,778,378	3,719,512	3,695,069	3,668,848	3,640,755	3,580,777	3,530,131	3,459,441	3,395,897	3,382,076	3,366,983	3,328,540	3,290,525	3,265,034
In employment (PAYE) only			2,488,228	2,465,393	2,474,295	2,506,519	2,563,649	2,578,408	2,553,542	2,539,144	2,546,895	2,567,610	2,571,187	2,555,281	2,567,857	2,568,470	2,544,097	2,559,865	2,612,948	2,601,729	2,579,245	2,548,044	2,529,823	2,527,353	2,532,061	2,483,254	2,441,856	2,405,445	2,346,599	2,312,013	2,341,149	2,322,825	2,283,286	2,238,811	2,225,557	2,232,545	2,212,871
In self-employment only			541,743	541,640	540,898	538,223	537,334	534,368	534,541	536,594	540,415	540,206	544,523	545,123	546,943	547,019	545,511	536,803	532,169	527,029	522,404	516,082	506,852	502,322	496,196	485,769	475,804	465,500	447,110	436,473	428,958	420,405	417,536	414,767	413,523	412,178	411,931
In employment (PAYE) and self-employment			108,968	108,287	103,426	103,431	104,037	105,179	103,681	101,707	100,707	104,334	102,374	103,413	103,577	102,008	101,670	101,550	102,870	102,040	100,401	97,405	97,594	96,565	97,042	93,553	90,714	87,181	84,255	80,694	81,870	80,998	77,569	75,656	75,547	76,030	75,357
People on Universal Credit, by sex2
Men		3,607,720	3,584,996	3,570,383	3,595,926	3,580,609	3,587,255	3,562,616	3,508,496	3,458,901	3,417,359	3,362,330	3,320,145	3,263,638	3,235,870	3,189,075	3,144,374	3,078,780	3,056,929	3,019,352	2,972,347	2,938,657	2,899,517	2,888,437	2,875,301	2,846,382	2,820,905	2,790,582	2,728,198	2,682,421	2,660,404	2,620,735	2,600,554	2,581,354	2,568,612	2,562,382	2,547,951
Women		4,751,922	4,731,432	4,718,727	4,745,911	4,742,115	4,756,282	4,740,045	4,699,203	4,658,619	4,623,663	4,571,482	4,531,232	4,472,741	4,443,473	4,405,916	4,370,599	4,312,878	4,298,459	4,256,735	4,191,280	4,140,071	4,069,205	4,016,090	3,969,426	3,911,179	3,856,233	3,808,212	3,730,467	3,676,804	3,650,931	3,599,299	3,559,846	3,514,786	3,474,484	3,448,826	3,417,181
Households on Universal Credit1		7,157,224	7,156,403	7,154,480	7,164,167	7,146,147	7,154,045	7,118,153	7,048,227	6,970,315	6,874,424	6,771,172	6,684,615	6,584,436	6,519,195	6,447,051	6,388,099	6,278,205	6,228,895	6,166,404	6,087,962	6,032,248	5,940,590	5,864,899	5,799,748	5,747,730	5,685,995	5,636,658	5,562,454	5,476,699	5,435,736	5,371,220	5,312,353	5,252,845	5,197,374	5,160,124	5,116,034
Households on Universal Credit, by family type4
Single, no children		3,758,961	3,754,793	3,750,033	3,749,644	3,726,701	3,725,304	3,690,997	3,623,576	3,550,437	3,460,441	3,362,245	3,282,370	3,193,287	3,134,001	3,069,679	3,011,519	2,929,529	2,896,968	2,858,415	2,823,250	2,798,252	2,766,134	2,743,844	2,723,460	2,712,106	2,706,575	2,699,138	2,672,195	2,643,647	2,634,407	2,604,763	2,578,790	2,556,314	2,534,581	2,515,891	2,493,624
Single, with children		2,222,762	2,225,037	2,225,768	2,231,952	2,235,181	2,239,630	2,237,019	2,234,296	2,231,333	2,228,790	2,225,365	2,219,462	2,212,526	2,207,559	2,202,222	2,202,903	2,191,201	2,184,171	2,170,644	2,144,071	2,125,571	2,104,721	2,066,556	2,027,919	1,998,179	1,964,494	1,943,191	1,934,103	1,915,998	1,904,309	1,881,018	1,856,372	1,825,682	1,795,426	1,778,847	1,759,681
Couple, no children		303,573	303,141	303,029	303,094	301,800	302,244	300,679	296,932	291,802	286,102	280,070	274,424	266,117	260,740	255,439	251,254	244,230	240,452	237,209	233,971	231,939	225,284	221,981	219,799	219,594	217,781	215,553	211,882	207,232	205,801	203,938	202,372	201,264	200,649	199,840	199,033
Couple, with children		870,026	872,011	874,317	878,129	881,106	885,561	888,199	892,226	895,566	897,867	902,225	907,142	911,319	915,707	918,512	921,190	911,995	906,064	898,910	885,411	875,196	842,927	830,896	826,955	816,067	795,356	776,930	740,537	706,662	688,185	678,520	671,892	666,793	664,168	663,134	661,324
Mean monthly Universal Credit award per household		1,020.21	974.84	961.78	959.47	951.58	949.9	949.07	946.36	944.91	950.03	955.21	956.28	950.77	935.02	929.35	929.18	917.01	909.4	909.11	902.68	900.33	902.57	894.25	883.82	879.42	828.01	814.9	810.92	804.52	798.81	802.93	802.11	800.56	805.91	804.98	803.88
Starts to Universal Credit		156,013	119,752	136,658	173,525	104,461	154,924	232,719	219,807	215,843	253,398	209,263	248,960	179,104	196,686	203,355	266,800	159,620	190,528	254,611	208,911	258,379	195,083	181,502	218,351	207,054	196,078	284,190	226,514	159,302	210,508	172,945	172,234	184,209	142,448	171,459	135,800
Social Security Scotland2
Scottish Child Payment7
Scottish Child Payment applications received	3,540	2,755	2,795	3,105	3,130	3,340	2,305	2,775	3,075	2,985	3,525	3,030	3,305	3,180	3,090	3,410	4,010	3,620	2,500	3,490	3,370	3,540	3,750	3,885	4,070	4,230	4,070	4,565	4,345	4,120	2,935	3,930	3,885	3,975	4,665	4,760	5,025
Scottish Child Payment applications processed	2,965	2,850	2,905	3,140	2,890	2,960	2,125	2,470	2,660	3,090	2,975	3,410	3,390	3,175	3,115	3,520	3,705	3,045	2,565	3,235	3,735	3,530	4,165	4,340	3,735	3,775	4,415	4,245	4,085	3,840	3,065	4,005	4,355	4,645	6,015	5,615	6,825
Scottish Child Payment applications authorised	2,055	1,980	2,120	2,240	2,070	2,170	1,505	1,825	1,990	2,265	2,115	2,440	2,480	2,200	2,180	2,425	2,665	2,165	1,770	2,260	2,610	2,530	2,990	3,080	2,760	2,635	3,040	3,060	2,920	2,710	2,190	2,810	3,070	3,185	4,155	3,940	4,895
Scottish Child Payment applications denied	815	755	695	810	745	740	570	590	625	765	810	915	835	925	885	1,020	985	840	760	915	1,020	960	1,125	1,200	905	1,095	1,325	1,130	1,120	1,085	850	1,150	1,230	1,305	1,740	1,555	1,820
Scottish Child Payment applications withdrawn	95	110	95	85	75	50	50	55	45	60	50	50	75	50	50	70	55	45	35	60	105	35	50	55	65	40	45	55	45	45	20	45	60	155	120	125	110
Scottish Child Payment payments issued	219,365	196,970	200,120	218,200	190,265	189,770	235,740	189,870	207,670	222,435	195,905	204,995	212,990	200,235	202,740	214,550	190,515	196,860	230,705	197,425	207,125	217,560	201,160	226,165	189,410	204,455	197,430	221,210	194,950	185,850	236,010	198,135	223,410	192,750	199,145	211,030	190,950
Scottish Child Payment value of payments	42,492,005	37,897,735	37,957,249	40,798,404	35,465,982	35,414,695	43,901,208	35,428,781	38,539,936	41,776,325	36,474,507	38,118,266	40,150,574	37,280,994	37,187,995	39,768,959	35,086,860	36,221,696	42,575,958	36,366,927	38,080,373	40,601,778	37,028,842	41,944,990	35,132,568	37,622,912	35,338,148	38,511,050	33,793,945	32,394,080	41,037,270	34,450,155	39,261,725	33,716,115	34,774,355	37,278,890	33,727,890
Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods3
Best Start Grant and Foods applications received	4,515	3,000	3,120	3,300	3,570	4,070	2,460	3,110	3,505	3,090	3,550	3,340	4,015	3,480	3,415	3,675	4,230	3,950	2,785	3,660	3,495	3,600	4,045	4,175	4,965	4,650	4,520	5,570	5,245	4,350	2,900	3,730	3,970	3,980	4,705	4,860	5,400
Best Start Grant and Foods applications authorised	2,445	2,085	2,315	2,265	2,430	2,345	1,665	1,795	1,865	2,135	2,115	2,550	2,640	2,260	2,260	2,225	2,530	2,320	1,675	2,235	2,475	2,380	2,895	3,220	2,840	2,620	3,415	3,740	2,175	2,505	1,720	2,230	2,640	2,720	3,340	3,330	3,885
Best Start expenditure by payment type5
All Best Start payments	8,417,512	2,338,479	2,499,633	2,535,660	2,405,337	2,303,003	2,065,119	2,214,417	3,635,647	2,394,781	2,373,154	2,660,019	8,261,772	2,469,664	2,339,042	2,333,821	2,368,457	2,331,355	2,108,886	2,463,577	3,518,807	2,410,399	2,567,355	2,879,710	8,177,065	2,415,756	2,264,644	1,982,182	2,154,048	2,213,917	1,781,210	3,117,489	2,429,727	2,627,684	2,349,532	2,455,577	8,563,060
Pregnancy and Baby Payment	632,151	547,162	652,726	674,249	632,710	556,785	444,741	519,114	506,103	595,040	516,664	710,683	650,758	658,802	580,288	603,682	617,701	572,371	452,804	638,752	556,226	649,552	708,156	709,686	504,071	680,688	654,108	546,962	680,394	699,086	469,104	639,324	698,954	751,479	759,012	728,263	875,177
Early Learning Payment	708,390	419,887	480,874	461,792	447,906	497,237	337,699	387,248	542,371	479,131	494,747	509,862	502,895	525,063	450,304	466,894	476,078	532,679	411,596	506,245	503,074	495,410	582,932	520,800	491,710	540,490	498,313	429,057	514,117	581,558	358,431	535,631	687,263	820,993	519,545	499,641	736,929
School Age Payment	5,769,100	3,518	22,706	33,254	34,478	32,827	28,143	38,691	48,605	52,710	56,578	172,856	5,828,171	7,649	6,604	28,930	39,307	24,842	24,528	40,879	37,688	45,492	74,505	440,753	6,000,269	12,393	4,941	19,703	39,087	34,640	28,151	45,881	63,668	83,436	87,596	237,132	5,964,777
Best Start Foods	1,307,873	1,367,914	1,343,328	1,366,366	1,290,245	1,216,155	1,254,538	1,269,366	2,538,570	1,267,902	1,305,165	1,266,621	1,279,949	1,278,152	1,301,847	1,234,316	1,235,374	1,201,465	1,219,960	1,277,702	2,421,821	1,219,946	1,201,764	1,208,472	1,181,016	1,182,186	1,107,284	986,462	920,452	898,635	925,526	1,896,655	979,844	971,777	983,380	990,542	986,179

Latest reading

People on Universal Credit stood at 8,359,744 People in May 2026. That is +0.5% from Apr 2026 and +8.1% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from May 2013 to May 2026. Source: Department for Work and Pensions — Stat-Xplore; Scottish Government and Revenue Scotland (data.gov.scot).

Latest: 8,359,744 People; May 2026
vs previous period: +0.5%; Apr 2026
vs a year earlier: +8.1%

About this data

Frequently asked questions

What do the Universal Credit and Scottish benefits data measure?: The table measures monthly claimant counts, starts and average monthly awards for Universal Credit in Great Britain alongside application outcomes for the Scottish Child Payment.
Which Universal Credit breakdowns are available for Great Britain?: DWP series break down Great Britain claimants by conditionality regime, employment status, gender and household composition, such as single claimants or couples with and without children.
What Scottish social security measures are included?: The Scottish series track Scottish Child Payment applications received, processed, authorised, denied and withdrawn by Social Security Scotland.
How far back do these Universal Credit monthly series go?: Administrative figures for Universal Credit in Great Britain are published monthly by the Department for Work and Pensions with continuous coverage since 2013.