Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households on Universal Credit have a combined income between £831 and £861 a month after tax and national insurance contributions, broken down by those who are (a) employed and (b) self-employed.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Of the 6.9 million households on Universal Credit in the most recent month for which official statistics are available (August 2025), around 40,000 households had an income of between £831 and £861 from employment and/or self-employment.
Around 7,000 of these households had at least one claimant who was self-employed and around 33,000 did not have a claimant who was self-employed.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Question 100498, how many households on Housing Benefit and Universal Credit who have flowed off the benefit cap are in the Other outcome category by reason of receiving an exempting benefit during the quarter to (a) August 2025, (b) May 2025, (c) February 2025 and (d) November 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit (HB) or Universal Credit (UC) that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, in the HB Cumulative Caseload dataset and the UC Cumulative Caseload dataset, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, with monthly off-flows data currently available to July 2025.
The HB statistics do have an Outcome at off-flow category for ‘Household receiving other exempt benefit (Employment Support Allowance support group / Disability Living Allowance / Industrial Injuries / Personal Independent Payment).’
However, statistics on the number of exempting benefit outcomes for UC are included in the Outcome at off-flow category of ‘Other outcome’, and to produce a further breakdown of this group would incur disproportionate cost.
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Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many households on Universal Credit in the most recent year for which data are available have received Universal Credit of (1) £0 per month; (2) less than £50 per month; (3) less than £100 per month.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Using the results from the most recent Family Resources Survey published on Stat-Xplore, the estimated number of households in receipt of Universal Credit by the total gross income received by a household from all income sources, in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), as reported by FRS respondents, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23, in financial year 2023 to 2024, is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Estimated number of households receiving Universal Credit by weekly gross income from all sources in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23 in financial year 2023 to 2024, United Kingdom
Weekly gross income from all sources | Households with income less than weekly value (millions) | Households with income equal to or more than weekly value (millions) | Total |
£576.92 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
£673.08 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.1 |
£705.77 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
£769.23 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.1 |
Source: Stat-Xplore - Family Resources Survey Household Dataset
Notes:
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK, and the Government has announced plans to increase the standard time most migrants have to wait before they can achieve settlement, from five to 10 years.
This change will support the downward trend of Universal Credit claimants who are foreign nationals.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help support welfare claimants with learning difficulties during the migration process to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides tailored support for customers with learning difficulties during their migration to Universal Credit. This includes the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service, face-to-face assistance in Jobcentres, and a dedicated helpline.
Customers may also receive help from friends, family members, or approved third parties. Additionally, we offer an Enhanced Support Journey, alternative formats, and home visits to ensure the process is accessible and that customers feel supported throughout their transition.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many households on Universal Credit have an income equal to or greater than (1) £30,000, (2) £35,000, (3) £36,700 or (4) £40,000 per year.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Using the results from the most recent Family Resources Survey published on Stat-Xplore, the estimated number of households in receipt of Universal Credit by the total gross income received by a household from all income sources, in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), as reported by FRS respondents, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23, in financial year 2023 to 2024, is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Estimated number of households receiving Universal Credit by weekly gross income from all sources in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23 in financial year 2023 to 2024, United Kingdom
Weekly gross income from all sources | Households with income less than weekly value (millions) | Households with income equal to or more than weekly value (millions) | Total |
£576.92 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
£673.08 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.1 |
£705.77 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
£769.23 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.1 |
Source: Stat-Xplore - Family Resources Survey Household Dataset
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average annual welfare entitlement is for a single person aged 18–24 years old claiming Universal Credit on the basis of (1) anxiety, (2) depression, (2) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and (4) autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average annual welfare entitlement for a single person claiming Universal Credit on the basis of (1) anxiety, (2) depression, (3) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and (4) autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities in England have implemented auto-enrolment for free school meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold information on which local authorities in England have implemented auto‑enrolment for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for managing their own processes for identifying eligible children.
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System, making it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to assess the suitability of people for each job under the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the wider Youth Guarantee, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment for every eligible 18 to 21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The scheme will break the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing meaningful paid employment opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.
Appropriate requirements will be built into the scheme, with guidance provided to those delivering the Jobs Guarantee to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.
A critical part of the Jobs Guarantee will be the provision of wraparound support to ensure that young people are able to take that crucial first step into employment, and to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.