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<p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed
Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021.
At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June
2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have
also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also
been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via
other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.</p><p>
</p><p>Data coverage continues to improve over time and by March 2024 data was held
on the armed forces status of approximately 73% of the GB UC caseload (see table below).
It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not
verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s
status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served”
or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed
Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.</p><p> </p><p>Data
is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed
Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified
themselves so far.</p><p> </p><p>The way the data is collected means the claimants
for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload
as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the
overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed
Forces or who have served in the past.</p><p> </p><p>Increases in the numbers of claimants
with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily
mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in
the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom
data is held as data coverage improves over time.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows
how the proportion of the GB UC caseload with a recorded Armed Forces status has changed
over time. It also shows how many claimants on the caseload had a recorded status
of each type.</p><p> </p><p>GB UC caseload by recorded Armed Forces status</p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>UC caseload month</p></td><td><p>Proportion of caseload
with a recorded status</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Currently serving</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Served
in the past</p></td><td><p>Not served</p></td><td><p>Prefer not to say</p></td><td><p>No
recorded status</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2022</p></td><td><p>51%</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>39,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>2,800,000</p></td><td><p>21,000</p></td><td><p>2,800,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August
2022</p></td><td><p>53%</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>40,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>2,900,000</p></td><td><p>22,000</p></td><td><p>2,700,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September
2022</p></td><td><p>54%</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>41,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,000,000</p></td><td><p>22,000</p></td><td><p>2,600,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October
2022</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>43,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,100,000</p></td><td><p>23,000</p></td><td><p>2,500,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November
2022</p></td><td><p>57%</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>44,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,200,000</p></td><td><p>24,000</p></td><td><p>2,500,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December
2022</p></td><td><p>58%</p></td><td><p>3,400</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>45,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,300,000</p></td><td><p>25,000</p></td><td><p>2,400,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January
2023</p></td><td><p>59%</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>46,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,400,000</p></td><td><p>25,000</p></td><td><p>2,300,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February
2023</p></td><td><p>61%</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>48,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,500,000</p></td><td><p>26,000</p></td><td><p>2,300,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March
2023</p></td><td><p>62%</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>48,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,500,000</p></td><td><p>27,000</p></td><td><p>2,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April
2023</p></td><td><p>63%</p></td><td><p>3,700</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>50,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,600,000</p></td><td><p>28,000</p></td><td><p>2,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May
2023</p></td><td><p>64%</p></td><td><p>3,800</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>50,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,700,000</p></td><td><p>28,000</p></td><td><p>2,100,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June
2023</p></td><td><p>65%</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>51,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,800,000</p></td><td><p>29,000</p></td><td><p>2,100,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July
2023</p></td><td><p>66%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>52,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,900,000</p></td><td><p>30,000</p></td><td><p>2,100,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August
2023</p></td><td><p>66%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>53,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>3,900,000</p></td><td><p>30,000</p></td><td><p>2,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September
2023</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>54,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,000,000</p></td><td><p>30,000</p></td><td><p>2,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October
2023</p></td><td><p>68%</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>54,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,100,000</p></td><td><p>30,000</p></td><td><p>2,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November
2023</p></td><td><p>69%</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>55,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,200,000</p></td><td><p>31,000</p></td><td><p>1,900,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December
2023</p></td><td><p>70%</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>57,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,300,000</p></td><td><p>31,000</p></td><td><p>1,900,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January
2024</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>58,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,400,000</p></td><td><p>32,000</p></td><td><p>1,900,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February
2024</p></td><td><p>72%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>59,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,500,000</p></td><td><p>32,000</p></td><td><p>1,800,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March
2024 (provisional)</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>62,000</p></td><td
colspan="2"><p>4,700,000</p></td><td><p>33,000</p></td><td><p>1,800,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the
Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.</p><p>2. Figures in the table
have been rounded according to the Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy.</p><p>3.
In line with the latest published People on UC official statistics, provisional figures
relating to March 2024 are provided. These figures will be subject to revision in
subsequent releases.</p><p>4. These figures are based on the Official Statistics UC
caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition
based on assessment period end dates.</p><p>5. Further information on the caseload
definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/"
target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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