Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2022, published on 24 May 2022, and the Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2023, published on 25 April 2023, for what reason the outturn spending on Universal Credit in 2021-22 was higher that the forecast.

In the financial year 2021-22, there was a higher than forecasted caseload for those with health conditions and therefore receiving a health element in their Universal Credit award.

Universal Credit households with health conditions tend to have the highest average awards, and an increase in this caseload tends to increase the overall UC average award. Therefore, even though the overall Universal Credit caseload has decreased slightly between the two publications, overall expenditure has increased between them.