Civometry

Housing support caseload: record highs and lows

The extremes of housing support caseload 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, 2,072,000 in Year ending March 2025, is the lowest in the whole published series of 47 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly above the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.

Highest published

5,053,000Year ending March 2013

Lowest published

2,072,000Year ending March 2025

The full series

Housing support caseload: Year ending March 1979 to Year ending March 2025ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour02m4m19801990200020102020Year ending March 1979: 3,408,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1980: 3,314,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1981: 3,556,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1982: 4,151,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1983: 4,431,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1984: 4,750,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1985: 4,825,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1986: 4,860,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1987: 4,900,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1988: 4,860,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1989: 3,996,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1990: 3,886,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1991: 3,950,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1992: 4,120,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1993: 4,380,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1994: 4,601,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1995: 4,692,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1996: 4,757,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1997: 4,740,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1998: 4,588,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 1999: 4,423,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2000: 4,187,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2001: 3,946,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2002: 3,846,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2003: 3,807,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2004: 3,812,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2005: 3,940,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2006: 3,986,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2007: 4,021,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2008: 4,036,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2009: 4,166,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2010: 4,547,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2011: 4,798,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2012: 4,932,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2013: 5,053,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2014: 5,026,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2015: 4,921,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2016: 4,777,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2017: 4,594,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2018: 4,371,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2019: 3,984,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2020: 3,394,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2021: 3,008,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2022: 2,733,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2023: 2,509,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2024: 2,351,000 households · published 26 March 2026Year ending March 2025: 2,072,000 households · 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.