Employment and Support Allowance
(asked on 20th March 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been an increase in successful claims of new style Employment Support Allowance in the past three years; and if so, what assessment they have made of the reasons for that increase.
The volume of New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) new claims awarded has not increased in the past three years.
NS ESA new claims awarded:
Financial year | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 to September 2025 |
ESA new claims awarded | 115,380 | 113,110 | 104,870 | 45,710 |
*Data is taken from internal Management Information. Volumes have been rounded to the nearest ten.
*Volumes for 2025/26 only include awards made between April 2025 and September 2025, therefore are not comparable to 2022/23 – 2024/25.