Employment and Support Allowance
(asked on 18th May 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people placed in the Support Group receive only New Style Employment and Support Allowance, by duration of awards (1) under two years, (2) between two and five years, (3) between five and ten years, (4) between 10 and 15 years, and (5) 15 years and longer; and what is the gender breakdown for each duration.
The information is in the table:
Support Group New Style Employment and Support Allowance claimants by duration and gender – November 2025
| Female | Male | ||
| Volume | Percentage | Volume | Percentage |
Under 2 years | 41,600 | 12% | 32,500 | 10% |
2 to 5 years | 63,700 | 18% | 44,900 | 14% |
5 to 10 years | 80,300 | 23% | 66,100 | 21% |
10 to 15 years | 158,600 | 45% | 161,300 | 51% |
15 + years | 11,200 | 3% | 11,100 | 4% |
This analysis is partially based on Internal DWP administrative data. The volume of claimants by duration up to 5 years can be found on Stat-Xplore in the ESA- Data from May 2018 dataset. The published statistics amalgamate the final three categories into one category (5 years and over), in this analysis this cohort has been split into three categories using internal unpublished administrative data.