Key points

A summary of the main stories of Universal Credit at 31 August 2022 are as follows:

  • 123,310 households on the caseload, an increase of 3.4% from May 2022
  • 113,240 of the households were in paid receipt of Universal Credit, accounting for 92% of the households on Universal Credit
  • 141,220 individual claimants on Universal Credit, an increase of 3.4% from May 2022
  • 4,380 new households started claiming Universal Credit in August 2022
  • £750 was the average monthly amount of Universal Credit paid to the 113,240 households in payment, a decrease of £10 from August 2021
  • 28,490 claimants in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime, representing 20% of the caseload
  • 49% of households in payment (55,600 households) were single people without children

Introduction

This publication contains statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in Northern Ireland from its commencement on 27th September 2017 until the end of August 2022. UC began rolling out on a phased geographical basis in Northern Ireland on 27th September 2017. Roll out for new claims in Northern Ireland completed on 5th December 2018.

UC provides a single award per household based upon the circumstances of the household. Support for housing costs, children and childcare costs are integrated into UC via additional elements. It also provides additions for disabled people and carers. UC is available to people who are in work and on a low income, as well as to those who are out of work. UC replaces six existing benefits and tax credits; Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit.

Data accompanying this publication

Supplementary tables (Open Document Spreadsheet) accompanying this publication are available on the Department for Communities (DfC) website

Publication charts

Households

The number of households on Universal Credit had been rising steadily since it was rolled out in Northern Ireland. However, the number of households on Universal Credit almost doubled between February and July 2020 when the government introduced restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic. There were 123,310 households on Universal Credit at August 2022. This is an increase of 3.4% from 119,240 households in May 2022 and an increase of 5.9% from August 2021 (116,440 households).

Figure 1: Households on Universal Credit up to August 2022

In August 2022, the majority of households (92%) were in paid receipt of Universal Credit (113,240), an increase from 108,750 in May 2022. There were 10,080 households not in receipt of payment. The most common reason for a Universal Credit award being reduced to nil is due to monthly earnings within the household exceeding the earnings threshold.

Claimants

The number of claimants on Universal Credit reached 141,220 in August 2022. This is an increase of 3.4% from May 2022 (136,530 claimants) and an increase of 5.9% from August 2021 (133,340 claimants).

Figure 2: Claimants on Universal Credit up to August 2022

The increase in the number of people on Universal Credit since March 2020 should be considered in the context of:

  • Changes in income or employment status resulting from the coronavirus pandemic;
  • Changes announced to support people through the coronavirus pandemic, including a temporary £1,040 a year increase to the standard allowance between March 2020 and October 2021;
  • A temporary policy change whereby nil payment awards were kept open for up to six assessment periods of nil payment, rather than being closed if claimant earnings reduce their award to nil.

Household starts

In August 2022, 4,380 new households started on Universal Credit. The three-month average was 4,330 households. The highest rate of new households occurred in April 2020 when 29,590 households claimed Universal credit.

Figure 3: Household starts on Universal Credit up to August 2022

Conditionality regime

All claimants on Universal Credit are assigned to a conditionality group that determines what type of work-related activity they must carry out to retain eligibility for Universal Credit. In August 2022 there were 28,490 claimants in the ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime, representing 20% of the caseload. This is a decrease from 36,490 claimants in August 2021.

Figure 4: Claimants by UC conditionality regime up to August 2022

In August 2022, there were 63,450 claimants on Universal Credit in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality regime. This represents 45% of the caseload. This has increased from 49,260 claimants with ‘no work requirements’ in August 2021.

Figure 5: Claimants by UC conditionality regime at August 2022

There were 38,020 claimants classed as ‘in work’. This total includes claimants in both the ‘working with requirements’ and ‘working with no requirements’ regimes. This accounted for 27% of the caseload in August 2022. Universal Credit claimants in other conditionality regimes may also be in work but are not included in this total. For example some claimants in the ‘searching for work’ regime may be in employment.

Family composition

In August 2022, the highest proportion of Universal Credit households in payment were single people (49%). This accounted for 55,600 households. There were 41,780 lone parent households (37%), 11,640 couples with children (10% of households) and 4,220 households consisting of couples without children (4%).

Figure 6: Family composition of households in payment at August 2022

Average payment

The average amount of Universal Credit paid to the 113,240 households in payment in August 2022 was £750 per month. This was a decrease of £10 from August 2021.

Figure 7: Average payment of households up to August 2022

The decrease in average payment of Universal Credit in autumn 2021 is due to the end of a temporary £1,040 a year increase to the standard allowance in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Figure 8: Average payment of households by family composition at August 2022

Households with children had higher average payments due to entitlement to support for one or more children, and a higher proportion with entitlement to support for housing. Lone parents received on average £1,000 whilst couples with children received an average of £920 in August 2022.

Additional elements

Under Universal Credit, households can qualify for additional elements on top of their standard allowance, depending on their circumstances. The number of households claiming additional elements had been increasing gradually prior to the coronavirus pandemic as Universal Credit gradually replaced existing legacy benefits for new claims.

Figure 9: Households in payment receiving additional elements up to August 2022

In the first few months of the pandemic (March and April 2020), the number of households claiming additional elements increased notably as the number of claimants rose. This was particularly the case for housing and child elements. In August 2022, 64,360 (57%) households in payment claimed housing element and 53,410 (47%) households claimed child element for at least one child.

Figure 10: Proportion of households in payment receiving additional elements up to August 2022

There were 34% (38,100) of households in payment claiming limited capability for work element. This is applicable to any household where an individual has limited capability for work or work related activity. In August 2022, there were 1,950 (2%) households in payment that received no additional elements.

Housing support

Support for housing costs (housing entitlement) was included in 64,360 (57%) of households receiving a payment in August 2022. This is an increase of 7,860 from August 2021. In Northern Ireland, support for housing costs is made by direct payment to landlord, by default, where renting.This policy position differs from Great Britain where Universal Credit payments are made directly to the claimant by default.

Figure 11: Households in payment receiving housing support up to August 2022

Social sector and private sector rent make up the vast majority of housing assistance claimed by households. In August 2022, 31,660 of households receiving a payment of Universal Credit with entitlement to support for housing were in the social rented sector, compared to 31,760 in the private rented sector. Of the aforementioned social rented sector households, 98% had their housing support paid directly to a landlord compared to 53% in the private rental sector.

Advances

If a household on Universal Credit is in financial difficulty, they can apply for a range of financial supports including an advance payment. The ‘new claim advance’ is the most common type of advance and assists new claimants that do not have enough money to live on until their first payment. In August 2022, there were 1,090 new claim advances issued to households with an average advance of £540.

Figure 12: New claim advances up to August 2022

The highest number of new claim advances issued in a month was in March 2020 when 6,090 households received an advance.

Figure 13: Average new claim advance by family composition at August 2022

In August 2022, there were 220 new claim advances issued to lone parents and 100 to couples with children. The average amount was £770 for lone parents and £990 to couples with children. There were 730 new claim advances issued to single people without children, with an average of £390, and 50 issued to couples without children (average £850).

Sanctions

When making a claim to Universal Credit, claimants agree to meet certain work requirements, depending on their circumstances. If work requirements are not met without good reason, claimants can be subject to a sanction, resulting in a reduction to the standard allowance portion of their Universal Credit award. In August 2022, 830 claimants had a deduction taken from their Universal Credit award for that month due to a sanction. This has increased from 490 claimants in May 2022.

Figure 14: Claimants with a reduction in benefit amount due to a sanction up to August 2022

The highest number of claimants impacted in a month was in August 2019 when 950 claimants had their benefit amount reduced due to a sanction. Legislative changes in response to the Coronavirus pandemic disapplied work search and work availability requirements leading to a significant drop in the number of those affected from March 2020 until early 2022. Sanctions are put in place as a last resort and will only be considered after a number of failed attempts to establish contact with a claimant and the convening of a case conference to consider vulnerability. Once contact resumes the sanction will be removed.

Geography

The largest geographical area for claimants by Local Government District is Belfast with 33,080 claimants. This represents 23% of the Universal Credit claimant caseload.

Figure 15: Claimants by Local Government District at August 2022

The darker areas of the map are districts with higher numbers of Universal Credit claimants, while the lighter areas are the districts with fewer Universal Credit claimants. Additional geographical breakdowns are available within the supplementary tables that accompany this publication.

Notes

Rounding

Figures contained within this publication have been rounded to the nearest ten. Percentages and totals shown are calculated using unrounded figures before rounding. Some totals therefore may not sum due to rounding.

Background information

Universal Credit is a single payment for each household, to help with living costs for those on a low income or out of work. Support for housing costs, children and childcare costs are integrated into Universal Credit. It also provides additions for people with a disability, health condition or caring responsibilities which may prevent them from working. Universal Credit replaces:

  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Housing Benefit

The main features of Universal Credit are the following:

  • it is available to people who are in work and on a low income, as well as to those who are out of work
  • it is responsive to earnings, whereby the monthly Universal Credit payment will adjust accordingly as claimants move in and out of work
  • most claimants on low incomes will still be paid Universal Credit and receive work coach support when they start a new job or increase their hours
  • claimants will receive a single monthly household payment paid into a bank account. In some cases, payment can be split between claimants in a household
  • support with housing costs can go to the claimant or be paid directly to the landlord
  • most people will apply online and manage their claim through an online account

Impact of Coronavirus

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which spread to the UK in early 2020 affected the entire population, with many businesses unable to trade and many employees being temporarily unable to work. Temporary changes were made to Universal Credit as a means of supporting households during this period, alongside other schemes the government introduced. As a result, there was a marked increase in the number of claims for Universal Credit.

Changes made to Universal Credit during the coronavirus pandemic include:

  • a temporary £1,040 a year increase to the standard allowance for 18 months from April 2020 was introduced as part of a support package for people through the coronavirus pandemic – this temporary increase to the standard allowance ended on 6 October 2021
  • local housing allowance rates increased to the 30th percentile of local rents from April 2020
  • for the self-employed, the Minimum Income Floor not being applied for the period that the government’s support policies were in place for the coronavirus pandemic
  • a temporary policy change of £0 payment awards being open for up to six assessment periods of £0 awards

Contact information

Data quality and methodology

The Universal Credit statistics have been developed to provide the primary official source of information about claimants and households on Universal Credit. They enable a variety of users to be informed about different elements of the benefit, as well as geographic information and characteristics of those taking up Universal Credit. The statistics are published quarterly in a timely manner to best meet user needs without compromising the quality of the data. While every effort is made to collect data to the highest quality, as with all administrative data it is dependent on the accuracy of information entered into the system.

Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS)

This is the main data source for the administration of Universal Credit claims. Information is entered by the claimant and verified by the jobcentre officials. Used as the base data source for these statistics to determine who is on Universal Credit and the details of the various elements of Universal Credit.

Retrospection

The statistics contained within the publication and supplementary tables are subject to revision in any future releases. This is to account for retrospective actions on the Universal Credit Full Service system (UCFS). The methodology, structure and format of the measures for gathering these statistics are still in development and are also in the process of being quality assured. As such this may also lead to a revision of the figures contained within. These revisions are performed in accordance with T3.9 of the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics. Revised figures within these tables may be from October 2017. More recent periods tend to be subject to a greater degree of revision than more distant ones.

Limitations

While quality assurance checks are completed on the NI Universal Credit data and statistical outputs prior to publication, errors in the statistics may occasionally arise due to IT system errors or human error. In the event of errors in statistical outputs, corrections will be made as soon as is practicably possible and notification of corrections will be published on the NI UC Statistics website. It is not currently possible to publish statistics on all aspects of Universal Credit data. Future changes to the statistical outputs will be led by user requirements and will be dependent on the availability of data needed to produce these outputs. Any additional outputs will be subject to rigorous quality assurance of methodology before publishing.

Glossary of terms

Additional elements

In addition to the standard allowance, there are additional amounts that a household may qualify for based on their circumstances. The additional elements are:

  • Child element: an extra amount for each child up to a maximum of two children, or subsequent children if certain conditions are met
  • Childcare costs element: a household will qualify for this element if they are currently paying for registered childcare
  • Disabled child element: an extra amount for any disabled or severely disabled child no matter how many children you have or when they were born
  • Limited capability for work element: one of two amounts for claimants with limited capability for work (abolished for most new claimants from 3 April 2017) or limited capability for work-related activity
  • Carer element: a household will qualify for this element if they are caring for a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week
  • Housing costs element: assistance primarily for households that are paying rent to a landlord. Eligible owner-occupiers can receive support for mortgage interest

Advance

Financial support that can be paid to claimants and paid back through future Universal Credit payments. Different reasons for an advance include:

  • new claim: the household is in financial need and does not have enough money to live on until their first Universal Credit payment
  • change of circumstances: the household is already claiming Universal Credit, and the payment is increasing due to a change in circumstances, but the increase has not yet been received
  • budgeting: the household requires assistance with help getting a job, staying in work, or to pay for emergency household costs

Alternative payments

Households can receive two types of alternative payment arrangements:

  • more frequent payments: in instances where it is identified that one monthly payment is not suitable for a household, it may be possible to have their Universal Credit award divided over the month and paid more frequently
  • split payments: the payment of Universal Credit can be divided between two members of the household

Assessment period

A rolling one month period in which the household’s circumstances are assessed for the amount of Universal Credit they are entitled to.

Benefit cap

The limit to the total amount of benefits that most working age people can get. The benefit cap can be applied through Universal Credit so that the amount received by the household does not exceed the cap.

Benefit unit

See households.

Capital

Any capital and savings that a household has worth between £6,000 and £16,000 will reduce the overall Universal Credit that a household is paid. Having capital worth more than £16,000 means the claimant will not be entitled to Universal Credit.

Claimant

Claimants on Universal Credit include all individual members of a household who have started and are still on Universal Credit at the end of the reported month.

Claimant commitment

A record of the responsibilities that have to be accepted in order to receive Universal Credit.

Claims

Submitted application to receive Universal Credit including a declaration of personal circumstances.

Closure

A closure represents the end of a claimant’s spell. This may mean that their claim is temporarily stopped due to a temporary change in circumstances, or it may be a permanent end to a claim.

Conditionality regime

Claimants must agree to do certain activities by signing a claimant commitment to receive their Universal Credit award. The conditionality regime determines what work related activity (if appropriate) a claimant is required to do, the level of contact with the claimant and the support that they will receive. The six groups are:

  • No work requirements: for a claimant where health or caring responsibilities prevents them from working or preparing for work, are in full-time education or are over state pension age
  • Planning for work: for a claimant that is expected to work in the future and is required to attend periodic interviews to plan for their return to work
  • Preparing for work: for a claimant that is expected to take reasonable steps to prepare for work
  • Searching for work: for a claimant that is not working, or with very low earnings, and doesn’t fit into any of the other labour market regimes
  • Working, with requirements: for a claimant that is in work but could earn more, or is not working but has a partner with low earnings
  • Working, no requirements: for a claimant that has individual or household earnings over the level at which they will be subject to conditionality

Claimants in the same household may be subject to different conditionality requirements. Claimants may also move between different conditionality regimes during their time on Universal Credit.

Declaration

When an individual/household provides information on their personal circumstances to begin a UC claim.

Entitlement

The maximum amount a household is eligible for. The amount a household will receive is worked out each month, so it may be different from one month to the next if they earn a different amount, or if their circumstances change.

Households

A single adult or a married or cohabiting couple and any dependant children. Also known as a benefit unit.

Housing costs

Assistance with the following housing costs:

  • rent to a private landlord
  • rent and some service charges if the claimant(s) rents from a housing association or local authority, for example council housing
  • interest payments on a mortgage and some service charges if the claimant(s) owns the property they live in

In-payment

A household is in payment if they are receiving a payment of any amount of Universal Credit in an assessment period. A household will be classed as ‘not in payment’ if they do not receive any payment of Universal Credit in an assessment period.

Managed migration

See Move to UC.

Maximum amount

A household’s maximum Universal Credit award is made up of one standard allowance and any additional elements that apply. The maximum amount will also take into account earnings, capital and other income from the household.

Move to UC

Programme to transfer to Universal Credit existing legacy benefit claimants. Also known as managed migration.

Natural migration

Claimants transferring to Universal Credit from legacy benefits as a result of a change in circumstances.

Nil award

It may be the case that a household has their Universal Credit award reduced to ‘nil’ due to earnings, deductions or sanctions. In this case, the household will be recorded as receiving a payment amount of £0 and therefore will be classified as ‘not in payment’.

Other income

Other income that a household receives, for example, from a pension or some other benefits. The Universal Credit award will be reduced by £1 for every £1 of other income.

Payment due date

The date by which a household should have received their payment.

Sanction

Under Universal Credit, a claimant must follow their claimant commitment in order to receive their payment. If they fail to meet the responsibilities that they agreed to in the claimant commitment, they may be subject to a reduction in their Universal Credit standard allowance for a set period.

Standard allowance

The basic Universal Credit entitlement of the household before any additional elements are applied. The standard allowance for a household will depend on whether the household is a single or joint claimant and the ages of the claimants.

Start

A starter to Universal Credit is defined as a household or individual who has completed the Universal Credit claim process and accepted their claimant commitment and had their identity verified.

Taper rate

The rate at which earnings reduce a household’s award. It will reduce a household’s Universal Credit payment by 55p for every £1 of earnings above any applicable work allowance.

Work allowance

An amount that certain households can earn before their Universal Credit payment starts to be reduced by the taper rate. A claimant will be eligible for the work allowance if they are responsible for a child or young person, living with a disability or health condition that affects their ability to work.

Work capability assessment

An assessment that looks at activities related to physical and mental/cognitive functions. This is to determine whether an individual could be reasonably expected to work or undertake work related activity, or not.

Work coach

An official who provides support to Universal Credit claimants by mentoring and coaching to help the claimant meet the requirements recorded in their claimant commitment.

Experimental statistics

These statistics are experimental statistics. They have been compiled using data from records of Universal Credit benefit claims held by the Department for Communities. The methodology used and definitions of the statistics may be updated within subsequent releases, along with information on the impact of any changes to the time series already released. These statistics have been developed using guidelines set out by the UK Statistics Authority, and are new official statistics undergoing evaluation. Therefore, they have been designated as Experimental Statistics.

Users are invited to comment on the content, relevance and development of these statistics (Northern Ireland Universal Credit statistics feedback survey).