Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming the health top-up on Universal Credit are aged between 18 and 21 years old.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’ and ‘Stage of UC Health’ (selecting ‘Limited capability for work and work-related activity’).
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who are (a) in receipt of Universal Credit and (b) under the age of 25 are parents.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Monthly statistics for the number of Households on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore. The latest statistics in table ‘UC Households 1 – month by family type’ provide a monthly breakdown of households on UC by family type up to November 2024.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged between 16 and 18 were in receipt of Universal Credit on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides provisional figures for the ‘count date’ of 13 February 2025 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’. The next release with provisional figures for the count date of 13 March 2025 is scheduled for release on 15 April 2025 at 09:30am.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people under the age of 25 are receiving Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides provisional figures for the ‘count date’ of 13 February 2025 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’. The next release with provisional figures for the count date of 13 March 2025 is scheduled for release on 15 April 2025 at 09:30am.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason there is an age differential between the national living wage age band and the lower universal credit band.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Young people in work typically earn less than those over 25 and are also more likely to live in someone else’s household, with lower living costs.
It is not inconsistent to maintain different rates of Universal Credit while moving to a single rate of the National Living Wage. Even with the rise of the minimum wage, younger workers will still, in general, earn less.
The lower rate of Universal Credit maintains an incentive to work as we continue to support young people into employment and to improve their career opportunities.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people claiming universal credit under the age of 25 are living (a) in someone else's home and (b) independently.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the lower rate of Universal Credit for people under 25 years old on those people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
The lower rate of Universal Credit for those aged under 25 reflects the fact that the majority of young people live in someone else’s household and are therefore likely to have lower living costs.
Younger workers also typically earn less as they are earlier in their careers, with the lower rate maintaining the incentive for younger people to find and progress in work.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many single parent families are affected by the two-child limit for benefits by the gender of the parent.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In April 2024, the number of single parents on Universal Credit affected by the two-child policy, by gender, was as follows.
| Single parents household on Universal Credit affected by two-child policy (April 2024) |
Female | 201,000 |
Male | 5,000 |
Total | 206,000 |
Notes:
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the age brackets for Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently no plans to review the age brackets for Universal Credit.
The lower rate of Universal Credit for those aged under 25 reflects the fact that the majority of young people live in someone else’s household and are therefore likely to have lower living costs.
Younger workers also typically earn less as they are earlier in their careers, with the lower rate maintaining the incentive for younger people to find and progress in work.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not have a policy which explicitly covers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers. Employees are able to take time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant or are able to request other leave, paid and unpaid, as well as annual and flexi leave as required to support them when they become a kinship carer. Employees are also able to request a combination of flexible working patterns, special leave and adjusted duties depending on their specific needs.