Four million people claiming Universal Credit in Britain are not required to work, new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions reveal. This marks a dramatic increase of over one million claimants in just one year, representing nearly half of all UC recipients.
The October data shows these non-working claimants now account for 48.7 percent of all Universal Credit claims. Total UC claimants reached 8.3 million, up from 7.2 million the previous year. The annual increase of 1.1 million represents the largest jump since the early Covid pandemic period.
Who qualifies
The "no work requirements" category includes individuals in full-time education, those past state pension age, single parents with children under one year old, and people deemed to have no prospect of employment. Meanwhile, 1.6 million claimants are actively searching for work, and 2.2 million working people receive UC due to low incomes.
Reform pressure
The Labour Government has stated it inherited a "broken welfare system and spiralling, unsustainable benefits bill" from the Conservatives. The government is pursuing reforms that include tightening eligibility rules for Universal Credit.
The sharp rise in claimants not mandated to work could influence the direction and urgency of these reform efforts. The largest monthly increase since June 2020 occurred between September and October, with 159,654 new claimants added.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
