Written Question·Department for Work and Pensions·UIN 115787

Universal Credit

Tabled: 25 February 2026
Answered: 9 March 2026
Named Day

Question

Mr Gregory Campbell

Democratic Unionist PartyEast Londonderry

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis his Department has undertaken on the reasons for increases in the numbers of successful applications for Universal Credit in the last three years.

Answer

Sir Stephen Timms
People moving from old legacy benefits onto Universal Credit – almost four in every five – account for the vast majority of the increase over the past year. This is a transition we inherited from the previous government, alongside a system that writes peo...

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