Almost 3 million claims for universal credit have been made since 16 March 2020

New management information shows that in the same period more than 900,000 advances have been awarded on new claims

Almost 3 million claims for universal credit have been made since 16 March 2020, according to new management information from the DWP.

In 'Universal Credit management information tables: 1 March to 26 May 2020', published today, the DWP reports that, between 16 March 2020 - when the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown came into effect - and 26 May 2020, there have been 2,873,980 individual declarations made for universal credit (see table below) -

NB - the DWP advises that a 'declaration' is made where an individual or household provides information on their personal circumstances to begin a universal credit claim - not all declarations will go on to receive a payment.

In addition, the figures show that over the same period a total of 910,300 advance payments were awarded on new claims.

Universal Credit management information tables: 1 March to 26 May 2020 is available from gov.uk

Stop press (5 June 2020) - the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland has updated universal credit management information to include figures for the period 2 March to 31 May 2020. These include details of the number of live claims, which have almost doubled from 70,000 at the beginning of March 2020 to 134,000 as at 31 May 2020.