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Written question asked by Helen Whately (Conservative) on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 January 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Monday, 5 January 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Wednesday, 14 January 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Universal Credit: Carers

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,how many households include (a) one, (b) two and (c) three or more people in receipt of Carer’s Element in the latest period for which data is available.

Answer

There is a maximum of two claimants on a Universal Credit (UC) claim therefore there cannot be 3 or more claimants on the UC claim being attributed with the carer’s element.

a) In August 2025, 1,045,000 UC households had the UC carer's element of £201.68 for one claimant.

b) In August 2025, 37,000 UC households had the UC carer's element of two lots of £201.68 – one attributed to each claimant on a joint claim.

Notes:

  1. Figures are for GB.
  2. Figures relate to UC claims with an assessment period covering the 2nd Thursday of the month.
  3. Figures are rounded to nearest 1,000.
  4. Nil award claims are not included. However, some UC claims will have been reduced for adjusting factors such as capital, earnings and other income.
  5. Household in this definition is a single person or couple living together, and any child dependants. This may also be known as a benefit unit.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
100473
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Carers Universal credit
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk