More UK 7-Year-Olds on Disability Benefits Than 50-Year-Olds
More seven year-olds are on disability benefits than 50 year-olds amid a surge in payouts for childhood ADHD and other mental health conditions, official figures show
The Telegraph has the story.
A total of 69,799 seven year-olds are now in receipt of disability benefits, according to Government data, a higher number than the 66,670 50 year-olds on similar welfare support.
The figures underline the extent of Britain’s spiralling welfare crisis, which John Healey is expected to sidestep in his maiden Budget on October 28th.
That is despite the International Monetary Fund warning this week that countries may have to “rethink” public services that are deemed unaffordable.
Benefit payments are already costing the economy £333 billion a year, but this figure is expected to soar as a growing number of children face a lifetime on benefits.
Parents of children with a disability are eligible to claim disability living allowance (DLA) on their behalf. Many children who receive DLA in this way often go on to claim Universal Credit, primarily on medical grounds after being diagnosed with mental health conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Helen Whately, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, warned of a “cash-for-labels pipeline to a lifetime on benefits”.
“Thousands of children are being told they have something wrong with them and that they deserve benefits as compensation,” she said.
“It’s damaging for them and unaffordable for the taxpayer.”
The number of children receiving DLA has more than doubled since the pandemic, fuelled by an increase in claims for ADHD and learning difficulties.
Currently, 915,000 children in England and Wales receive DLA, a number expected to surpass one million this year.
This will be more than triple the 314,000 recorded in 2010.
The Government predicts that spending on DLA will surpass £8 billion within the next five years, piling further strain on the public finances.
The latest figures will serve as a stark reminder of Britain’s rising welfare bill.
The Chancellor is under pressure to cut welfare spending to avoid tax rises after the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned earlier this week that he must plug a £35 billion hole.
The annual cost of benefits is expected to hit £407 billion by the end of the decade.
The latest data show that around one in 10 seven year-olds now receive DLA.
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