--- title: "Households with foreign nationals received £11.9bn in Universal Credit" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit" category: "Politics" area: "United Kingdom" published: "2026-09-22T08:46:16.759Z" source_reported: "2026-09-22T07:55:19.000Z" updated: "2026-09-22T08:46:16.759Z" trust_score: 50 critic_score: 45 hype_score: 65 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-09-22T11:00:26.415369+00:00" --- # Households with foreign nationals received £11.9bn in Universal Credit *Payments rose by 25% in 2025, with 65% going to claimants not in work.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 50 of 100, higher is better. Central claim attributed to DWP data, but relies on anonymous sourcing for analysis by Centre for Migration Control. - Craft 45 of 100, higher is better. Reporting is largely based on digests, with only two full reports providing original content. - Hype 65 of 100, lower is better. Headlines use loaded language like 'brutal insult' and 'shocking figures' to sensationalize the story. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Households containing at least one foreign national received £11.9 billion in Universal Credit in 2025. - This amount is a 25% increase from 2024 and a 59% increase from 2023. - Approximately £7.7 billion, or 65% of the total, was paid to claimants categorised as not working. - The figures measure households with at least one foreign national, not payments made exclusively to foreign nationals. Households in the UK with at least one foreign national received £11.9 billion in Universal Credit during 2025. This figure represents a 25% increase from the £9.5 billion paid in 2024 and a 59% increase from the £7.5 billion paid in 2023. Department for Work and Pensions data shows that approximately £7.7 billion, or 65% of the total payments, were associated with claimants categorised as not working. The figures measure households containing at least one foreign national, not payments made exclusively to foreign nationals. ## Coverage disagreements The Telegraph, LBC, and yourNEWS reported that the total payment figure was £11.9 billion. GB News, PressNewsAgency, and London Loves Business reported the figure as approximately £12 billion. ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated reports mentioned the proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) rules being considered by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, or the specific details of those proposals, such as the potential increase in the qualifying period to 10 or 15 years. The reports also did not include the government spokesperson's statement to LBC that 'Under this government, net migration is down by 82% from its 2023 peak'. ## Who covered it Shares of the 6 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 0% (0) - Right: 100% (6) 7 of 13 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-09-22T11:00:26.415369+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 11 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-09-22T11:30:15.488Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre No separate framing summary. ### Right - Right-rated reports focused on the record sum of Universal Credit paid to households with foreign nationals and the proportion paid to unemployed individuals. YourNEWS stated that the £11.9 billion figure was obtained through freedom of information laws and noted that immigration and welfare eligibility are central political issues. LBC quoted the shadow home secretary, Chris Philip, who called the figures 'shocking' and an 'insult to hard-working taxpayers', adding that paying unemployed foreigners was an 'insult to hard-working taxpayers'. LBC also quoted Robert Bates, research director at the Centre for Migration Control, who said the figures made a 'mockery of the suggestion that mass legal migration has been a boon for Britain’s economy' and that it was 'unconscionable that universal credit is being used to prop up the lifestyle of idle migrants'. Breitbart and The Savage Nation highlighted that the British taxpayer is handing out these payments. GB News described the payments as an 'insult' to British taxpayers and linked them to a 'migrant crisis'. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - veryLow: 1 - mixed: 4 - high: 1 - unknown: 7 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [[your]NEWS](https://yournews.com/2026/09/22/7201567/universal-credit-payments-to-households-with-foreign-nationals-reach-record) — Universal Credit Payments to Households With Foreign Nationals Reach Record £11.9 Billion in Britain - [LBC](https://lbc.co.uk/article/households-migrants-universal-credit-5Hjdhhr_2) — Households with migrants claim record £12bn in universal credit - [The Savage Nation](https://michaelsavage.com/migrant-households-receiving-record-amount-of-direct-welfare-payments-in-britain) — MichaelSavage.com – Migrant Households Receiving Record Amount of Direct Welfare Payments in Britain - [London Loves Business](https://londonlovesbusiness.com/?p=237325) — Brutal ‘insult to hard-working taxpayers’ as migrant households claim record £11.9bn in benefits - London Business News - [polishexpress.eu](https://polishexpress.eu/ile-imigranci-dostaja-w-zasilkach-w-wielkiej-brytanii) — How Much Do Immigrants Get in Benefits in the UK? - [Breitbart](https://breitbart.com/europe/2026/09/21/migrant-households-receiving-record-amount-of-direct-welfare-payments-in-britain) — Migrant Households Receiving Record Amount of UK Welfare Payments - [Gândul](https://gandul.ro/international/factura-record-a-migratiei-in-marea-britanie-119-miliarde-de-lire-platite-gospodariilor-cu-cetateni-straini-intre-care-77-miliarde-au-revenit-migrantilor-fara-loc-de-munca-21013651) — Record Migration Bill in the UK: £11.9 Billion Paid to Households with Foreign Citizens, of Which £7.7 Billion Returned to Unemployed Migrants - [The Telegraph](https://telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/20/migrant-households-receive-12bn-universal-credit) — Migrant households receive record £12bn in universal credit - [The Droitwich Standard](https://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/foreign-national-households-received-record-11-9bn-in-universal-credit-figures-show-national-news-64443) — Foreign national households received record £11.9bn in Universal Credit, figures show – NATIONAL NEWS - [rugbyobserver.co.uk](https://rugbyobserver.co.uk/news/foreign-national-households-received-record-11-9bn-in-universal-credit-figures-show-national-news-64443) — Foreign national households received record £11.9bn in Universal Credit, figures show – NATIONAL NEWS - [coventryobserver.co.uk](https://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/foreign-national-households-received-record-11-9bn-in-universal-credit-figures-show-national-news-64443) — Foreign national households received record £11.9bn in Universal Credit, figures show – NATIONAL NEWS - [GB News](https://gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-foreign-households-universal-credit-record-claims-labour) — Migrant families take home record £12BILLION in universal credit claims in 'insult' to British taxpayers - [PressNewsAgency](https://pressnewsagency.org/migrant-families-take-home-record-12billion-in-universal-credit-claims-in-insult-to-british-taxpayers) — Migrant families take home record £12BILLION in universal credit claims in ‘insult’ to British taxpayers ## Questions **How much did households with foreign nationals receive in Universal Credit in 2025?** Households in the UK containing at least one foreign national received a record £11.9 billion in Universal Credit during 2025. This was a 25% increase from the previous year and a 59% increase from 2023. **What proportion of Universal Credit payments went to unemployed claimants?** Approximately £7.7 billion, which constituted 65% of the total Universal Credit payments made to households with at least one foreign national, was paid to claimants categorised as not working. **Do these figures represent payments made exclusively to foreign nationals?** No, the figures measure households containing at least one foreign national, not payments made exclusively to foreign nationals. A household may include individuals with different nationalities or immigration statuses. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Households with foreign nationals received £11.9bn in Universal Credit", https://mediabias.news/politics/households-with-foreign-nationals-received-119bn-in-universal-credit