Data shows immigration status of universal credit claimants for first time
Around four in five (83.6%) of those on the benefit as of last month were British and Irish nationals and those who live or work in the UK without any immigration restrictions.
This amounted to 6.6 million of the total 7.9 million people on universal credit (UC) in June.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it had published the statistics 'following a public commitment to investigate and develop breakdowns of the UC caseload by the immigration status of foreign nationals in receipt of UC'.
UC is a payment to help with living costs and is available for people on low incomes or those who are out of work or cannot work.
The next largest group on UC were people with EU Settlement Scheme settled status who have a right to reside in the UK, accounting for 9.7% (770,379), while 2.7% (211,090) of the total had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Refugees accounted for 1.5% (118,749) of people on UC, while 0.7% (54,156) were people who had come by safe and legal humanitarian routes including under the Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes.
A total of 75,267 people – making up 1% of the total on UC – had limited leave to remain in the UK, covering those with temporary immigration status.
The rest – some 65,346 people – were either no longer receiving UC payments or had no immigration status recorded on digital systems, the DWP said.
Independent MP Rupert Lowe, an ex-member of Reform UK, welcomed the pledge to publish the data, describing it as a 'huge win' for those who had 'relentlessly pushed for this'.
Conservative MP Gregory Stafford had also asked, in a written question in December, if the Work and Pensions Secretary 'will publish data on welfare claimants by (a) nationality and (b) immigration status'.
People can only access UC if they have an immigration status that provides recourse to public funds.
Those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) cannot claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state.
The total number of people on UC has risen from 6.8 million in June 2024 to 7.9 million a year later.
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