UK Benefit Statistics by Postcode and Year

Government Digital Service data on benefit claimants in the UK, with figures rounded to the nearest 10. The dataset likely contains annual snapshots of claimants for benefits like Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment. Geographic boundaries are derived from claimant postcodes, with Universal Credit using a 2023 postcode for historical years 2017-2023.

Use Cases

• Analyzing geographic distribution of benefit claimants based on postcode boundaries mentioned in the description
• Tracking annual changes in claimant counts for specific benefits like Universal Credit
• Comparing claimant statistics across different welfare programs such as Personal Independence Payment

Strengths

• Data is provided by the Government Digital Service, an authoritative source
• Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, which may protect individual privacy
• Available in both Excel and CSV formats for accessibility

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Administrative records of benefit claimants, likely from government systems.

Time Range

Covers years 2017 to 2023, with annual snapshots at February.

Freshness

Annual snapshots at February each year, but last update date is unknown.

Geography

United Kingdom, with boundaries based on claimant postcodes.