The government has continuously backed the advancement of technical and vocational education through additional funding, the formation of new qualifications called T-Levels and the apprenticeship levy. Despite continuous government funding being pumped into the industry, revenue has still been squeezed in recent years due to unstable demand for apprenticeship starts, according to data from the DfE. Over the five years through 2024-25, industry revenue is estimated to fall at a compound annual rate of 0.8% to reach £936 million. The launch of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 was expected to fund three million apprenticeships by 2020, but apprenticeship starts have been declining since 2017-18. Low unemployment because of the vast availability of jobs reduced the need for people to re- or up-skill to find work. The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in plunging apprenticeship starts in 2020-21 because of businesses’ tightened corporate training budgets and falling disposable income reduced the number that could afford pricier courses. Many apprentices were unable to complete programmes, which prevented companies from receiving government funding. As a result, revenue contracted over 2020-21, but has recovered in the three years through 2024-25. The rollout of T-Levels since 2020 has been driven by the UK’s desire to improve individuals’ technical skills and to reduce the number of individuals going to university and not securing jobs that require a degree. They have faced some criticism due to several subject pathways being pushed back or removed like beauty and hairdressing, high drop-out rates and poor quality standards of placements. Still, the government backed a 10% increase to the funding rates for T Levels for 2024-25. However, the new Labour government in July 2024 launched a review into the retraction of funding from other qualifications like BTecs that had been due to take place, deciding that 157 courses will continue until at least July 2026 or 2027. Revenue is forecast to grow by 2% in 2024-25 as demand for digital skills in the workplace and therefore technology-related apprenticeships rises. The prioritisation of vocational education has led to enhanced support for vocational and technical apprenticeships. The bumpy roll out of T Level courses will create some uncertainty for the sector, while the impact of reforming the apprenticeship levy won't be clear for a while. Moreover, the number of people aged between 16 and 25 is forecast to rise, which will support industry demand, as this age group represents the industry’s main demographic. Industry revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.8% over the five years through 2029-30 to reach £1 billion.

Data for people on Universal Credit is available in Stat-Xplore on a monthly basis.

These monthly experimental statistics include the total number of people who are on Universal Credit at 11 March 2021.

The statistics are broken down by:

• Jobcentre Plus office
• age
• employment status
• conditionality regime
• duration

Background information

Read the background information and methodology note for guidance on these statistics, such as timeliness, uses, and procedures.

Interactive statistics

View https://dwp-stats.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=f90fb305d8da4eb3970812b3199cf489" class="govuk-link">statistics on the Universal Credit claimants at Jobcentre Plus office level on a regional interactive map.

View a https://dwp-stats.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=8560a06de0f2430ab71505772163e8b4" class="govuk-link">regional interactive map which shows statistics on households on Universal Credit at Local Authority level.

View https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/metadata/dashboards/uch/index.html" class="govuk-link">an interactive dashboard of the latest Universal Credit household statistics by region.

Find further breakdowns of these statistics on https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" class="govuk-link">Stat-Xplore, an online tool for exploring some of DWP’s main statistics.

Next releases

People on Universal Credit statistics are released monthly.
Next release: 18 May 2021.

Households on Universal Credit statistics, and claims and starts for Universal Credit are released quarterly.
Next quarterly release: 18 May 2021.

Pre-release access

In addition to staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, up to 24-hour pre-release access is provided to ministers and other officials. We publish the job titles and organisations of the people who have been granted up to 24-hour pre-release access to the latest Universal Credit statistics.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by highest level of qualification and by economic activity status. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

There are quality considerations about higher education qualifications, including those at Level 4+, responses from older people and international migrants, and comparability with 2011 Census data. Read more about this quality notice.

As Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change, take care when using this data for planning purposes. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Highest level of qualification

The highest level of qualification is derived from the question asking people to indicate all qualifications held, or their nearest equivalent.

This may include foreign qualifications where they were matched to the closest UK equivalent.

Economic activity status

People aged 16 years and over are economically active if, between 15 March and 21 March 2021, they were:

• in employment (an employee or self-employed)
• unemployed, but looking for work and could start within two weeks
• unemployed, but waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted

It is a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market during this period. Economically inactive are those aged 16 years and over who did not have a job between 15 March to 21 March 2021 and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021 or could not start work within two weeks.

The census definition differs from International Labour Organization definition used on the Labour Force Survey, so estimates are not directly comparable.

This classification splits out full-time students from those who are not full-time students when they are employed or unemployed. It is recommended to sum these together to look at all of those in employment or unemployed, or to use the four category labour market classification, if you want to look at all those with a particular labour market status.

Percentage of Troubled Families local authorities have identified and are committed to working with

How the figure is calculated:

The figure is the number of all troubled families that have been identified by upper tier local authorities to date given as a percentage of all families that authorities pledged to turn around (as indicated in the published data - see link below).

Why is this indicator in the business plan?

The indicator is a measure of the progress being made by local authorities at this early stage of the Troubled Families Programme. Identifying the real names and addresses and all the various family members of families that are right for this programme is not always easy as we have targeted families for the first time whose range of problems will often cut across education, crime, worklessness and other issues. This involves lots of different local agencies sharing information and making an assessment about whether families they're individually working with are the right ones for this programme.

How often is it updated?

Data is updated quarterly.

Where does the data come from?

Self-declarations by local authorities, which are provided to the DCLG Troubled Families Team.

What area does the headline figure cover?

England

Are further breakdowns of the data available?

By local authority. For data at local authority level see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/troubled-families-progress-information-at-30-june-2013-and-families-turned-around-at-29-july-2013

What does a change in this indicator show?

These figures show the extent of progress in Local Authorities working towards their commitments for the programme. They come less than 13 months after the start of the programme and show that councils are on course to meet the Prime Minister's target. We expect the figure to increase towards 100%, but we are not expecting local areas to identify all the families they will work with over the course of a 3 year programme at the start of that programme - as family circumstances may change by the time they are approached to be worked with.

Time Lag

2 months

Next available update

To be confirmed.

Type of Data

Management Information

Robustness and data limitations

-

Links to Further Information

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/helping-troubled-families-turn-their-lives-around

Contact Details

CorporatePerformance@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Private companies were responsible for most of the new homes built in the United Kingdom (UK), amounting to ******* units in 2023. Housing completions in the UK decreased for three years in a row between 2007 and 2010. This was followed by several years of fluctuation and a gradual increase from 2013 to 2019. The number of homes completed in England remained relatively stable in 2021 and 2022, after reaching a low point in the second quarter of 2020 due to the restrictions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Construction starts and completions Comparing the number of starts and completions in London side-by-side shows that whenever there is a significant growth or fall in the number of projects started, that peak or valley tends to be reflected in the number of buildings completed a couple of years later. Nevertheless, disruptions, delays, and other obstacles may affect that correlation. Still, observing how many home construction projects started in the UK can provide some insight into the level of activity that construction companies may have in the near future. Given that the number of housing starts is forecast to fall in 2023, there might be slightly less work to be carried out the following year. Nevertheless, housing starts are expected to pick up again by 2024 and 2025. Housing associations in the UK Housing associations are not-for-profit organizations created to develop and rent homes for a lower price than in the private market. They have acquired certain relevance in the UK, although this type of organization also exists in other countries. On several occasions during the past decade, over a fifth of housing starts in London were developed by housing associations. Meanwhile, the number of new homes completed in Scotland by housing associations has increased a lot throughout the years, with several thousand units constructed every year during the past decades.

As of April 2025, there were around 4.4 million self-employed workers in the United Kingdom. During this provided time-period, self-employment in the UK has grown steadily, from a low of just 3.2 million in December 2000, to a peak of over five million at the start of 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, self-employment has fallen to levels not seen since the middle of 2015 and has struggled to recover to its pre-pandemic peak. Demographics of the self-employed There has consistently been more men self-employed than women in the UK, with recent figures showing that over 2.8 million men, and over 1.5 million women were self-employed. As of 2024, the most likely age group to be self-employed were those aged 65 or over, with over a third of workers in this age group self-employed. In the same year, around 16.5 percent of workers in London were self-employed, compared with the UK average of 13.1 percent, making London the region with the highest rate of self-employment in the UK. Self-employment support scheme In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government unveiled various measures to mitigate the economic costs to businesses and individuals. For self-employed workers, this manifested itself as the Self-Employment Income-Support Scheme, which was in its third iteration, or tranche, by December 2020. During the first tranche, which ran from March to July, there were 2.7 million claims made in total, with claims to the second and third tranches numbering 2.4 million and 1.7 million respectively. As of December 13, 2020, the overall value of these claims amounted to 14.5 billion British pounds.

This data set contains annual data, the most recent quarterly data, and rolling four quarter totals (England only) on house building completions. From 2011/12 imputed data is included. Imputed data should not be seen as an estimate for the individual authority but is given on an authority basis to allow custom totals to be constructed. A dwelling is regarded as complete when it becomes ready for occupation or when a completion certificate is issued.

House building data are collected at local authority district level, but it is important to treat figures at this level with care. House building is unevenly distributed both geographically and over time and patterns of housing development can produce clusters of new homes which make the figures at a low geographic level volatile and difficult to interpret.

For detailed definitions of all tenures, see definitions of housing terms on Housing Statistics

The district level and county figures are as reported by local authorities and the NHBC. Where a local authority has not submitted a quarterly return to DCLG, no figure has been presented for this local authority (and when relevant its county) for any 12-month period that includes the missing quarter.

England total figures include estimates for missing data returns from independent Approved Inspectors and Local Authorities, so the sum of district values may be slightly
less than the England totals.

House building completion – In principle, a dwelling is regarded as complete when it becomes ready for occupation or when a completion certificate is issued whether it is in fact occupied or not. In practice, the reporting of some completions may be delayed and some completions may be missed if no completion certificate was requested by the developer or owner, although this is unusual.

Tenure – For the purposes of these statistics, the term tenure refers to the nature of the organisation responsible for the development of a new housing start or completion. It does not necessarily describe the terms of occupancy for the dwelling on completion. For example, some housing associations develop homes for sale on the open market. Such homes would be reported in the Housing Association tenure of these statistics, but would ultimately most likely be owned and occupied in the private sector.

Housing association - “Housing associations (HAs)” is used as the generic name for all social landlords not covered by local authorities (see below). In previous editions HAs were referred to as Registered Social Landlords (RSL), and the technical term (private) Registered Provider (pRP) of social housing is also sometimes used. The more all-encompassing description of ‘housing associations’ is now seen as more helpful to users of these statistics.

These data were derived from live table 253a (quarterly figures).

Rolling totals for England are calculated and published in Tables 2a and 2b of the house building statistics release.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by sexual orientation by economic activity status. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Some sub-populations have age and geographic profiles that may affect the relationships with other variables such as education, employment, health and housing. Take care when using this variable with others. We will publish more detailed commentary and guidance later this year. Read more about this quality notice.

As Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change, take care when using this data for planning purposes. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Sexual orientation

Classifies people according to the responses to the sexual orientation question. This question was voluntary and was only asked of people aged 16 years and over.

Economic activity status

People aged 16 years and over are economically active if, between 15 March and 21 March 2021, they were:

• in employment (an employee or self-employed)
• unemployed, but looking for work and could start within two weeks
• unemployed, but waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted

It is a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market during this period. Economically inactive are those aged 16 years and over who did not have a job between 15 March to 21 March 2021 and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021 or could not start work within two weeks.

The census definition differs from International Labour Organization definition used on the Labour Force Survey, so estimates are not directly comparable.

This classification splits out full-time students from those who are not full-time students when they are employed or unemployed. It is recommended to sum these together to look at all of those in employment or unemployed, or to use the four category labour market classification, if you want to look at all those with a particular labour market status.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales who have previously served in the UK armed forces by their economic activity status. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Many who have previously served in the UK armed forces will be older males because of National Service. We applied extra quality assurance to correct some answers from currently serving personnel. Read more about this quality notice.

As Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change, take care when using this data for planning purposes. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

UK armed forces veteran indicator

Identifies people who have previously served in the UK armed forces. This includes those who have served for at least one day in armed forces, either regular or reserves, or Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined military operations.

Economic activity status

People aged 16 years and over are economically active if, between 15 March and 21 March 2021, they were:

• in employment (an employee or self-employed)
• unemployed, but looking for work and could start within two weeks
• unemployed, but waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted

It is a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market during this period. Economically inactive are those aged 16 years and over who did not have a job between 15 March to 21 March 2021 and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021 or could not start work within two weeks.

The census definition differs from International Labour Organization definition used on the Labour Force Survey, so estimates are not directly comparable.

This classification splits out full-time students from those who are not full-time students when they are employed or unemployed. It is recommended to sum these together to look at all of those in employment or unemployed, or to use the four category labour market classification, if you want to look at all those with a particular labour market status.