Employment and Support Allowance: spending and claimants by year
Spending on Employment and Support Allowance each financial year, in cash terms, from DWP's benefit expenditure tables, with the number of people receiving it where DWP gives a caseload.
£12.3 billion
1,437 thousand
DWP's benefit expenditure tables record spending on Employment and Support Allowance of £12.3 billion in 2024/25, in cash terms. The first year with spending in the tables is 2008/09 (£127 million). DWP's caseload for 2024/25 is 1,437 thousand; the highest in the table is 2,381 thousand in 2016/17. Cash spending was highest in 2017/18, at £15.4 billion.
Spending and caseload by year
| Year | Spending (cash) | Change on previous year | Caseload (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | £12.3 billion | -0.2% | 1,437 |
| 2023/24 | £12.4 billion | +2.2% | 1,573 |
| 2022/23 | £12.1 billion | -4.7% | 1,663 |
| 2021/22 | £12.7 billion | -5.2% | 1,769 |
| 2020/21 | £13.4 billion | -3.4% | 1,875 |
| 2019/20 | £13.9 billion | -8.3% | 1,961 |
| 2018/19 | £15.1 billion | -1.7% | 2,168 |
| 2017/18 | £15.4 billion | +3.5% | 2,326 |
| 2016/17 | £14.8 billion | +3.9% | 2,381 |
| 2015/16 | £14.3 billion | +11.3% | 2,356 |
| 2014/15 | £12.8 billion | +22.9% | 2,235 |
| 2013/14 | £10.4 billion | +53.9% | 1,912 |
| 2012/13 | £6.8 billion | +90.8% | 1,365 |
| 2011/12 | £3.6 billion | +59.3% | 811 |
| 2010/11 | £2.2 billion | +76.1% | 579 |
| 2009/10 | £1.3 billion | +896.4% | 391 |
| 2008/09 | £127 million | 136 |
Source: DWP expenditure tables, Tables 1a and 1c. About these figures · CSV
Rates and related figures
Sources and receipts
- Benefit expenditure and caseload tables: outturn and forecast, Spring Forecast 2026, Department for Work and Pensions.
File: outturn-and-forecast-tables-spring-forecast-2026.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
11a591e4a2144ed6a686be6a9ded4e5d5b3b8d4887bd57c1ff0632bd251009de