Civometry

Benefit expenditure on working-age people: record highs and lows

The extremes of benefit expenditure on working-age people as published by DWP, across the 47 periods held here (Year ending March 1979 to Year ending March 2025). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.

The latest figure, £119.8bn in Year ending March 2025, is the highest in the whole published series of 47 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly below the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.

Highest published

£119.8bnYear ending March 2025

Lowest published

£4.4bnYear ending March 1979

The full series

Benefit expenditure on working-age people: Year ending March 1979 to Year ending March 2025ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour050k100k19801990200020102020Year ending March 1979: £4.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1980: £4.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1981: £6.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1982: £8.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1983: £9.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1984: £11.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1985: £12.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1986: £14bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1987: £15.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1988: £15.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1989: £14.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1990: £15.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1991: £17.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1992: £22.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1993: £27.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1994: £30.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1995: £31.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1996: £33.5bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1997: £34.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1998: £33.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1999: £33.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2000: £32.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2001: £31.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2002: £32.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2003: £33.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2004: £34.6bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2005: £35.7bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2006: £36.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2007: £38.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2008: £40.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2009: £42.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2010: £49.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2011: £51.3bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2012: £53.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2013: £55.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2014: £51.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2015: £52.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2016: £53.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2017: £54.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2018: £56.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2019: £60.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2020: £66.4bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2021: £85.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2022: £86.2bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2023: £93.1bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2024: £108.9bn £ million · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2025: £119.8bn £ million · published 26 March 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What a record here is, and is not

A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.