Universal Credit child element: every value since 2013
The monthly amount added to Universal Credit for each child: a higher amount for a first child born before 6 April 2017 and a lower amount for other children.
Department for Work and Pensions gives 14 values for the first child (born before 6 April 2017), from £272.08 in 2013 to 2014 to £351.88 in 2026 to 2027. Of the 13 year-to-year steps, it stayed the same in 4, went up in 9 and never went down. The largest rise from one value to the next was +8.6%, in 2023 to 2024 (from £290.00 to £315.00). Across the whole series the cash value changed by +29.3%. The value in 2025 to 2026 was +1.7% on the one before; ONS CPI inflation for calendar year 2025 was 3.4%. Ten years before the latest value, in 2016 to 2017, it was £277.08.
First child (born before 6 April 2017)
| Tax year | First child (born before 6 April 2017) (a month) | Change on previous value | CPI inflation that calendar year (ONS, D7G7) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 to 2027 | £351.88 | +3.8% | not yet published |
| 2025 to 2026 | £339.00 | +1.7% | 3.4% |
| 2024 to 2025 | £333.33 | +5.8% | 2.5% |
| 2023 to 2024 | £315.00 | +8.6% | 7.3% |
| 2022 to 2023 | £290.00 | +2.7% | 9.1% |
| 2021 to 2022 | £282.50 | +0.4% | 2.6% |
| 2020 to 2021 | £281.25 | +1.5% | 0.9% |
| 2019 to 2020 | £277.08 | – | 1.8% |
| 2018 to 2019 | £277.08 | – | 2.5% |
| 2017 to 2018 | £277.08 | – | 2.7% |
| 2016 to 2017 | £277.08 | – | 0.7% |
| 2015 to 2016 | £277.08 | +0.9% | 0.0% |
| 2014 to 2015 | £274.58 | +0.9% | 1.5% |
| 2013 to 2014 | £272.08 | 2.6% |
Second and later children
Department for Work and Pensions gives 14 values for the second and later children, from £226.67 in 2013 to 2014 to £303.94 in 2026 to 2027. Of the 13 year-to-year steps, it stayed the same in 4, went up in 9 and never went down.
| Tax year | Second and later children (a month) | Change on previous value | CPI inflation that calendar year (ONS, D7G7) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 to 2027 | £303.94 | +3.8% | not yet published |
| 2025 to 2026 | £292.81 | +1.7% | 3.4% |
| 2024 to 2025 | £287.92 | +6.8% | 2.5% |
| 2023 to 2024 | £269.58 | +10.2% | 7.3% |
| 2022 to 2023 | £244.58 | +3.2% | 9.1% |
| 2021 to 2022 | £237.08 | +0.5% | 2.6% |
| 2020 to 2021 | £235.83 | +1.8% | 0.9% |
| 2019 to 2020 | £231.67 | – | 1.8% |
| 2018 to 2019 | £231.67 | – | 2.5% |
| 2017 to 2018 | £231.67 | – | 2.7% |
| 2016 to 2017 | £231.67 | – | 0.7% |
| 2015 to 2016 | £231.67 | +1.1% | 0.0% |
| 2014 to 2015 | £229.17 | +1.1% | 1.5% |
| 2013 to 2014 | £226.67 | 2.6% |
CPI: ONS series D7G7, for the calendar year the period starts in. About these tables · CSV
Related pages
Sources and receipts
- DWP Benefit and pension rates, Department for Work and Pensions: 14 yearly documents from 2013 to 2026, each linked from its row in the table. Read 2026-10-15. File addresses and SHA-256: receipts for each document.
- Consumer price inflation time series (MM23), Office for National Statistics.
File: mm23.csv. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
1b78749ea634755b83064d88f4fc6f7dd177e0c41d8b573c9d8172b8d3fff641