The number of people claiming benefits with no requirements to be in work has risen to an all-time high, new data from the Department for Work and Pensions shows – climbing by 1 million in the past year alone.
Some 3.6 million people claiming universal credit (UC) are not required to be working or seeking work, according to the latest figures from June, largely because of because of illness or disability, student status, or caring responsibilities. This figure has doubled in less than three years and makes up nearly half (46 per cent) of all 7.9 million claimants.
Its rise is in stark comparison with other conditions of universal credit claimants, which have remained stable since mid-2022.
The jump in benefit claimants who do not have to work or seek work – rising nearly fourfold in just five years – has been a priority for the current Labour government, which has tried to reform work capability assessments.
“The current system focuses on assessing capacity to work instead of on helping people to adjust and adapt to their health condition,” work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said in November, as the DWP’s ‘Get Britain Working Again’ white paper set out to move away from “binary categories” of either fit – or not fit – for work.
Labour has decided to scrap the existing work capability assessments for UC in 2028; and align them with health assessments for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which is considered a higher bar to entry.
Sir Keir Starmer “absolutely” wants to reuduce the number of immigrants claiming UC, Downing Street said when asked about the figures.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “As we've been clear, both in relation to the welfare system. but also in relation to immigration. We both want to see a reduction in migration, through a system that is controlled, selective and fair.
“And we also want to reform the welfare system such that it genuinely supports those who can work into employment.” The PM’s spokesman stressed that illegal migrants cannot claim UC and attacked the “open borders” policy of the last Conservative government.
Refugees make up just 1.5% of benefit claimants
For the first time, the latest figures from DWP also show the immigration status and ethnicity of people claiming universal credit.
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".
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".
The vast majority (83.6 per cent) 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.
People can only access benefits like UC if they have an immigration status that provides recourse to public funds. For example, asylum seekers cannot claim welfare benefits until they have been successfully granted refugee status.
Aside from British nationals, 770,000 people on the EU Settlement Scheme claim UC benefits, accounting for 9.7 per cent of all claimants.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP said that the taxpayer should not subsidise benefits for immigrants; though this system was in place under the Tory government.
“Under Kemi Badenoch, we’ve set out a clear, common-sense position,” he said. “Universal Credit should be reserved for UK citizens only. This is about fairness, responsibility and protecting support for those who’ve contributed to this country.”
Refugees accounted for just 1.5 per cent (118,749) of people on UC, while 0.7 per cent (54,156) were people who had come by safe and legal humanitarian routes including under the Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes.
Those seeking asylum are unable to work until they have been successfully granted refugee status.
A further 2.7 per cent (211,090) of UC claimants have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, while 1 per cent had temporary immigration status (limited leave to remain in the UK).
