𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The UK towns where the highest proportion of locals are claiming benefits have been revealed. Seaside areas on the east coast of England have been identified as the benefits capitals of Britain, where nearly half of residents claim handouts from the state. East Lindsey, which includes the Lincolnshire resort of Skegness, heads the list of benefits hotspots. Official figures show 145,183 people in the area claim benefits – which is 49.2% of the local population.

It is one of eight areas where more than 45% of locals are on benefits, nearly all of them areas which include seaside resorts. Tendring in Essex, home to Clacton-on-Sea, is ranked second where 47.5% are claiming benefits. It’s followed by North Norfolk and Great Yarmouth, also on the East coast of England.

The other areas with more than 45% on benefits include holiday destinations Isle of Wight, Blackpool, Rother (East Sussex) and Thanet in Kent.

The areas have been ranked by the proportion claiming one of the benefits counted under the DWP’s definition of ‘Benefit Combinations’ which cover 23 different categories including Universal Credit, state pension, housing benefit and Income Support.

At the opposite end of the scale, the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge are among the areas with the lowest benefit claimant rates. Oxford has 166,034 people claiming one of the benefits on the list, which is 22.3% of the local population. Cambridge has the lowest rate in the country with 149,352 benefits claimants, exactly 20% of the population.

The Benefit Combination statistics cover these 23 benefits:

Below is a full list of areas and what proportion of thier residents claim benefits, with the top 10 containing 53 towns.