Number of people going onto universal credit surges by 13% in three months

Tens of thousands of people have started claiming benefit this year as the cost of living hike bites

The number of people opening universal credit claims each week has surged by 13 per cent in the last three months, new figures show, as the cost of living crisis hits families across the UK.

Official data shows that on average 33,000 claims were opened between January and April 2022, compared with 29,000 the previous quarter.

Overall, 5.6 million people were on the benefit in mid-April, of whom 3.8 million were children – up 200,000 on November 2021, the data shows.