Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many households with children have an income of £35,000 or more and receive Universal Credit.

In November 2024, 220,000 out of 2.9m Universal Credit households with children that were paid an amount of Universal Credit had earnings that, according to publicly available tax and salary calculations, were equivalent to an annual salary of £35,000 a year or more.

Universal Credit is a means-tested in- and out-of-work benefit which reduces as household earnings increase. The level at which entitlement to Universal Credit ends will be different for different claimants/households depending on their circumstances and other unearned income.

Households with a higher entitlement to Universal Credit due to, for example, high housing costs and childcare costs, can earn more before their UC is tapered away compared to those with a lower entitlement.

It is right that the amount of Universal Credit a household is entitled to increases with the needs of a household and that it reduces as a household earns more.

Notes:

This analysis uses internal management information therefore UC households with children figures do not precisely match published statistics.