More than 252,000 people in the South East are now receiving personalised Universal Credit support, new figures show – including 4,453 people on the Isle of Wight.
The latest data reveals that 2.5million people nationwide are benefiting from Universal Credit support nationwide – an increase of 5% over the month.
Universal Credit, which is now available in every jobcentre across the UK, simplifies the benefit system and replaces 6 previous benefits with a single monthly payment.
The government continues to make improvements and strengthen the welfare safety net – this month it announced increased support for parents with their childcare payments, dedicated funding for Armed Forces Champions in jobcentres and tighter measures to reduce fraud.
The release of the latest Universal Credit data comes in the same week that the UK employment rate was recorded at a near record high rate of 75.9%. There was further good news in terms of unemployment, which has fallen over the year to 3.9%.
Minister for Welfare Delivery Will Quince said:
“Universal Credit is a force for good, providing vital support across the length and breadth of the South East and helping people into work.
“Universal Credit provides a vital safety net to millions, preventing families from falling through the cracks. We continue to make improvements – in the last month alone we have increased childcare support, announced new funding to help veterans and their families, and brought in new measures to crack down on fraudsters.”
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| Local Authority | Region | UC claimants |
| Adur | South East | 1741 |
| Arun | South East | 4475 |
| Ashford | South East | 4365 |
| Aylesbury Vale | South East | 3639 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | South East | 4462 |
| Bracknell Forest | South East | 2709 |
| Brighton and Hove | South East | 11313 |
| Canterbury | South East | 4602 |
| Cherwell | South East | 4291 |
| Chichester | South East | 2728 |
| Chiltern | South East | 1307 |
| Crawley | South East | 4171 |
| Dartford | South East | 3361 |
| Dover | South East | 6147 |
| East Hampshire | South East | 1768 |
| Eastbourne | South East | 5332 |
| Eastleigh | South East | 4068 |
| Elmbridge | South East | 1566 |
| Epsom and Ewell | South East | 1122 |
| Fareham | South East | 1583 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | South East | 4082 |
| Gosport | South East | 2361 |
| Gravesham | South East | 4265 |
| Guildford | South East | 1780 |
| Hart | South East | 1032 |
| Hastings | South East | 7291 |
| Havant | South East | 3228 |
| Horsham | South East | 2580 |
| Isle of Wight | South East | 4453 |
| Lewes | South East | 2546 |
| Maidstone | South East | 3907 |
| Medway | South East | 10818 |
| Mid Sussex | South East | 2500 |
| Milton Keynes | South East | 7030 |
| Mole Valley | South East | 1059 |
| New Forest | South East | 3681 |
| Oxford | South East | 4741 |
| Portsmouth | South East | 7309 |
| Reading | South East | 6636 |
| Reigate and Banstead | South East | 2518 |
| Rother | South East | 3661 |
| Runnymede | South East | 1245 |
| Rushmoor | South East | 2221 |
| Sevenoaks | South East | 1975 |
| Slough | South East | 6403 |
| South Bucks | South East | 1044 |
| South Oxfordshire | South East | 2869 |
| Southampton | South East | 14657 |
| Spelthorne | South East | 1897 |
| Surrey Heath | South East | 1106 |
| Swale | South East | 7097 |
| Tandridge | South East | 1826 |
| Test Valley | South East | 2942 |
| Thanet | South East | 10056 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | South East | 2311 |
| Tunbridge Wells | South East | 2073 |
| Vale of White Horse | South East | 3248 |
| Waverley | South East | 1432 |
| Wealden | South East | 3292 |
| West Berkshire | South East | 3874 |
| West Oxfordshire | South East | 2517 |
| Winchester | South East | 2192 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | South East | 2826 |
| Woking | South East | 1597 |
| Wokingham | South East | 2820 |
| Worthing | South East | 3210 |
| Wycombe | South East | 3576 |
| Total | 252534 |
To learn more about Universal Credit, visit www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk to find out if they are eligible and what support is available.
