A record number of households in Northern Ireland are claiming Universal Credit as people struggle under the impact of the cost of living crisis.
The number of people claiming the benefit has more than doubled since 2020 as households come under increased pressure with rising bills and prices.
The most recent figures from the Department for Communities show that in November 2022, there were 128,160 households receiving Universal Credit, with 115,860 of these receiving payments.
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Two years prior in November 2020, there were 114,850 households claiming the benefit and 99,100 receiving payments. In January 2020, prior to the pandemic 55,450 were claiming Universal Credit and 52,430 receiving payments.
This means that in just under three years, the number of people receiving payments from the benefit has more than doubled.
From January to November 2022, an average of 4,190 households per month have signed up for Universal Credit.
Single people without children and single parents are the categories of households with the highest numbers of claimants at 56,610 and 43,370 respectively. In January 2020, there were 19,480 single parents claiming universal credit, with this figure more than doubling in just under three years.
There has also been an increase in couples with children claiming the benefit since the start of 2020 when there were 4,990 claimants compared to 11,540 in November 2022.
More people than ever on Universal Credit are claiming housing support, with 66,100 households needing assistance. Roughly the same number of households receiving support are living in private rentals, 32,320, as in the social housing sector where there are 32,880.
The vast majority of housing support is paid directly to landlords as opposed to the claimant.
From January to November 2022, around 12,050 needed to avail of a Universal Credit advance, with the majority of these, 8,260, being single, childless claimants receiving a £390 payment, followed by single parents, 2,220, receiving a £780 payment.
The number of Universal Credit claimants who received a reduced payment due to sanctions being imposed on them increased throughout the course of 2022, with 20 households being sanctioned in January and 1,060 in November.
In total, 6,250 households were sanctioned from January to November 2022.
In Belfast, the area with the highest number of people on Universal Credit is North Belfast with 12,600, followed by West Belfast with 11,830, East Belfast with 7,220 and South Belfast with 6,950.
Outside of Belfast, the Foyle area has the largest number of claimants with 11,750 followed by the Upper Bann area with 10,190.
The area with the lowest number of households on Universal Credit is North Down with 5,240.
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