PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Universal Credit: Children (9 March 2016)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of children in each age group that will be in households in receipt of universal credit once it is fully introduced.

Asked by:
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)

The number of children in each age group estimated to be in households in receipt of Universal Credit, once fully rolled-out, is:

Age of Child	Number of Children in Households not receiving UC	Number of Children in Households receiving UC
0-2	1,300,000	1,430,000
3-5	1,090,000	1,300,000
6-8	1,020,000	1,170,000
9-11	960,000	1,050,000
12-14	1,120,000	1,000,000
15-18	1,310,000	1,030,000

The proportion of children in each age group estimated to be in households in receipt of Universal Credit, once fully rolled-out, is:

Age of Child	Proportion of Children in Households not receiving UC	Proportion of Children in Households receiving UC
0-2	48%	52%
3-5	46%	54%
6-8	47%	53%
9-11	48%	52%
12-14	53%	47%
15-18	56%	44%

These estimates have been made using the Department’s Policy Simulation Model, which is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS)

The actual number of children in households receiving Universal Credit once fully rolled-out is dependent on a range of factors including demographic changes and the economic conditions at that time, and therefore these estimates are sensitive to changes in modelling and economic assumptions.

Answered by:
Priti Patel (Conservative)
14 March 2016