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DWP · Benefit expenditure and caseload tables: outturn and forecast (Spring Forecast 2026)

Total benefit expenditure, real terms

Year ending March 2025 Final

£304.7bnmillion

Total benefit expenditure, real terms was £304.7bn in the year ending March 2025, up 3.8% (£11.2bn) from £293.5bn in the year ending March 2024.

▲ 3.8% · +£11.2bn against Year ending March 2024 (previous period)

  1. DWP count
  2. Year ending March 2025
  3. published 26 March 2026
  4. Benefit expenditure, £ billion, real terms, 2026/27 prices
  5. row “Total”
  6. column “2024/25”
  7. cell value 304.65937984719085

Year ending March 2025 is the highest figure in the published series: £304.7bn. Rule: highest of the 77 periods published here (Year ending March 1949 to Year ending March 2025).

Year ending March 1949 to Year ending March 2025

Total benefit expenditure, real terms: Year ending March 1949 to Year ending March 2025ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour0100k200k300k19501960197019801990200020102020Year ending March 1949: £20.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1950: £25.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1951: £25.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1952: £25.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1953: £27.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1954: £28.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1955: £29bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1956: £31.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1957: £30.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1958: £31.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1959: £37.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1960: £39.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1961: £39.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1962: £42.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1963: £43.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1964: £49.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1965: £49.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1966: £55.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1967: £55.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1968: £61.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1969: £66.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1970: £66.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1971: £64.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1972: £70.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1973: £74.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1974: £77.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1975: £80.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1976: £87.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1977: £91.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1978: £96.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1979: £103.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1980: £104.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1981: £105.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1982: £117bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1983: £124.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1984: £132.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1985: £135.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1986: £140.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1987: £145.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1988: £142.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1989: £135.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1990: £133.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1991: £138bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1992: £152.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1993: £168.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1994: £179.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1995: £182bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1996: £184.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1997: £185.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1998: £187.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1999: £189bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2000: £193.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2001: £196.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2002: £202.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2003: £205.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2004: £192.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2005: £195.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2006: £198.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2007: £198.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2008: £206.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2009: £213.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2010: £230.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2011: £234.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2012: £238.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2013: £245.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2014: £236.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2015: £239.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2016: £242.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2017: £240.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2018: £243.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2019: £245.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2020: £250.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2021: £263.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2022: £268.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2023: £268.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2024: £293.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2025: £304.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What this measures

Total DWP benefit expenditure restated at 2026/27 prices using the GDP deflator, so years can be compared without the effect of inflation.

What this doesn’t measure

Changes in the number of people supported, which is a separate caseload figure.

Important caveat

These are DWP's own expenditure and caseload tables for Great Britain, by financial year. Expenditure is in cash terms unless the metric says real terms, in which case DWP has restated it at 2026/27 prices with the GDP deflator. Caseloads are averages over the year, not the number at any date, and a person can appear in more than one benefit's caseload. Benefits devolved to Scotland leave these tables from the year of transfer, so recent years cover a smaller population than earlier ones for the affected benefits. Forecast years in the same workbook are not shown here.

Revision history

No period of this series has been revised since it was first ingested here. Revisions are recorded automatically when a later release publishes a different figure for the same period.

Source

Publisher
DWP
Publication
Benefit expenditure and caseload tables: outturn and forecast (Spring Forecast 2026)
Release
Benefit expenditure and caseload tables: Spring Forecast 2026, published 26 March 2026
Source file
dwp_outturn.xlsx
File SHA-256
11a591e4a2144ed6a686be6a9ded4e5d5b3b8d4887bd57c1ff0632bd251009de
Retrieved
3 September 2026
Sheet
Benefit summary table
Table
Benefit expenditure, £ billion, real terms, 2026/27 prices
Row
Total
Column
2024/25
Cell value
304.65937984719085 (× 1,000 = £304.7bn million)
Geography
K03000001
Unit
£ million
API
/api/metrics/benefit_expenditure_total_real · /series · /vintages

Related metrics

Government periods

Change during each government, from the level inherited to the last complete period before it left office. Describes the period; does not attribute cause.

Conservative 2019–2024£245.7bnYear ending March 2019£293.5bnYear ending March 2024↑ 19.4%
Conservative 2017–2019£240.7bnYear ending March 2017£245.7bnYear ending March 2019↑ 2.1%
Conservative 2015–2017£239.4bnYear ending March 2015£240.7bnYear ending March 2017↑ 0.6%
Coalition 2010–2015£230.3bnYear ending March 2010£239.4bnYear ending March 2015↑ 3.9%
Labour 2005–2010£195.9bnYear ending March 2005£230.3bnYear ending March 2010↑ 17.6%
Labour 2001–2005£196.3bnYear ending March 2001£195.9bnYear ending March 2005↓ 0.2%
Labour 1997–2001£185.5bnYear ending March 1997£196.3bnYear ending March 2001↑ 5.9%
Conservative 1992–1997£152.8bnYear ending March 1992£185.5bnYear ending March 1997↑ 21.4%
Conservative 1987–1992£145.3bnYear ending March 1987£152.8bnYear ending March 1992↑ 5.2%
Conservative 1983–1987£124.5bnYear ending March 1983£145.3bnYear ending March 1987↑ 16.7%
Conservative 1979–1983£103.2bnYear ending March 1979£124.5bnYear ending March 1983↑ 20.6%

Full comparison with chart

Release
Benefit expenditure and caseload tables: Spring Forecast 2026 · publication page
Last updated
26 March 2026
Next release expected
Not yet announced (estimated from the usual cadence)