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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 February 2023 data was
held on the armed forces status of approximately 61% 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 are not 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><strong>UC caseload month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion
of caseload with a recorded status</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Currently serving</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Served
in the past</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Not served</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Prefer
not to say</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>No recorded status</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July
2022</p></td><td><p>51%</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td><p>38,600</p></td><td><p>2,804,200</p></td><td><p>21,000</p></td><td><p>2,753,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August
2022</p></td><td><p>53%</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td><td><p>40,100</p></td><td><p>2,912,500</p></td><td><p>21,800</p></td><td><p>2,683,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September
2022</p></td><td><p>54%</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td><td><p>41,400</p></td><td><p>3,002,500</p></td><td><p>22,400</p></td><td><p>2,614,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October
2022</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>42,800</p></td><td><p>3,131,700</p></td><td><p>23,400</p></td><td><p>2,530,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November
2022</p></td><td><p>57%</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>44,000</p></td><td><p>3,218,300</p></td><td><p>24,000</p></td><td><p>2,467,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December
2022</p></td><td><p>58%</p></td><td><p>3,400</p></td><td><p>45,100</p></td><td><p>3,299,400</p></td><td><p>24,600</p></td><td><p>2,407,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January
2023</p></td><td><p>59%</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>46,200</p></td><td><p>3,375,000</p></td><td><p>25,400</p></td><td><p>2,349,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February
2023 (provisional)</p></td><td><p>61%</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>48,300</p></td><td><p>3,508,300</p></td><td><p>26,500</p></td><td><p>2,306,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><strong>Notes: </strong></p><p>1. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces
status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland. The figures provided only relate to Great
Britain.</p><p>2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest percent and numbers are rounded
to the nearest hundred.</p><p>3. Figures may be subject to retrospective changes as
more up-to-date data becomes available or if methodological improvements are made.
Figures relating to February 2023 are provisional and may be subject to revision.</p><p>4.
Due to methodological improvements, 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>
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