Overview

• Official DWP data show about 3.7 million working-age Universal Credit claimants face no work requirements, nearly one million more than in July 2024
• May figures show 109,570 sanctions, down from just over 124,000 before Labour took power, lowering the sanctions rate to 5.3%
• The Department for Work and Pensions attributes the jump mainly to moving vulnerable customers from legacy benefits onto the modernised Universal Credit system
• Plans to tighten sickness and disability support were shelved following a rebellion by Labour backbenchers earlier this summer
• Constituency-level audits identify hotspots with steep local spikes, such as Blackpool South where 19.3% of adults are exempt and Holborn and St Pancras with a 61.3% year-on-year rise