Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people under the age of 25 receiving the Universal Credit health element are NEET, and how many are in education or employment.

The Universal Credit health journey includes claimants with a fit note, those assessed as having Limited Capability for Work (LCW), and those assessed as having Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA).

Claimants who have submitted a fit note have not yet completed a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and are therefore not considered to be receiving the Universal Credit health element. Similarly, claimants in the LCW group do not receive the health element; instead, they benefit from reduced work-related requirements and conditionality. Only claimants assessed as having LCWRA are entitled to receive the health element within Universal Credit.

Table 1 - Under-25 Universal Credit claimants with LCWRA in England, May 2024, by participation in education, training and employment:

Notes/caveats:

1. Cohort is England only as we do not hold education data from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
2. DFE data for education does not cover private education so a small number may be missed.
3. Education also includes those on training courses such as apprenticeships.
4. Data covers those on the caseload in May 2024 to match both employment and education datasets.
5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
6. Those under 18 can claim UC (and by extension UC Health) in specific circumstances such as no parental support, pregnancy (or recently given birth), responsible for a child or have a long-term health condition.
7. Usually those in full-time education cannot claim UC. Exceptions are made for those responsible for a child or have received LCWRA and are entitled to another disability benefit such as PIP.