Database: Households on Universal Credit

Field: Monthly Award Amount (payment bands)

Description

Universal Credit consists of several elements, which combine to give the household's full monthly award. The vast majority have a standard allowance entitlement which can then be supplemented by a number of additional elements.

Award amount figures relate to the amount received, not the household entitlement. For example, if earnings in the household are above a specified amount the Universal Credit award is tapered to reflect this.

The example below demonstrates how a monthly award may be calculated:

A household consists of a single person (25 or over) with one child so their total entitlement is the standard allowance + child element.

They are working and have monthly earnings of a certain amount. Each household has a work allowance which is the amount they are allowed to earn before their Universal Credit payment is reduced by a set amount for every £1 earned above that threshold.

Their payment will be reduced due to their earnings as follows:

(Earnings − work allowance) x earnings taper = payment reduction amount

So their final Universal Credit payment will be:

Entitlement − payment reduction = Universal Credit Award.

More information is available on the elements of Universal Credit.

Classification

Applicable to: All Households

The Monthly Award Amount field can take the following values:

• No payment
• £0.01 to £100.00
• £100.01 to £200.00
• £200.01 to £300.00
• £300.01 to £400.00
• £400.01 to £500.00
• £500.01 to £600.00
• £600.01 to £700.00
• £700.01 to £800.00
• £800.01 to £900.00
• £900.01 to £1000.00
• £1000.01 to £1100.00
• £1100.01 to £1200.00
• £1200.01 to £1300.00
• £1300.01 to £1400.00
• £1400.01 to £1500.00
• £1500.01 or over *For months up to August 2022

Additional data for months from September 2022:

• £1500.01 to £1600.00
• £1600.01 to £1700.00
• £1700.01 to £1800.00
• £1800.01 to £1900.00
• £1900.01 to £2000.00
• £2000.01 to £2100.00
• £2100.01 to £2200.00
• £2200.01 to £2300.00
• £2300.01 to £2400.00
• £2400.01 to £2500.00
• £2500.01 or over

Total number of categories: 28

Quality Statement

The monthly award is the total amount of Universal Credit due, including amounts paid on behalf of the household (e.g. where a housing element is paid to a landlord), after any deductions (e.g. for recovery of advances). The monthly award amount includes one-off payments such as short term advances. These are included in the period in which are issued.

As of the November 2024 release of the data, the payment bands for monthly award were expanded for data records from September 2022 onwards to provide a better view of payment figures.

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