Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received an advance payment of universal credit between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 880,000 Universal Credit (UC) households received at least one advance payment of UC and between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023, 610,000 UC households received at least one advance payment of UC.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.

2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

4. This analysis includes New Claims, Change of Circumstances and Benefit Transfers as these are an advance of a Universal Credit payment. Budgeting Advances have been excluded since these are loans to help with emergency household costs and not an advance of Universal Credit payment.

5. Households with more than one advance payment in the stated time period have only been counted once.