The number of people in England and Wales claiming PIP has passed four million for the first time.
The number of people in England and Wales claiming PIP has passed four million for the first time. (Image: Getty)
The reality behind Britain’s rising benefits bill has been laid bare in a new map, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that a generation has been let down by a lack of support. The number of people in England and Wales claiming personal independence payments (PIP) – the main disability benefit – has passed four million for the first time.
Claimant numbers have roughly doubled since 2019, with PIP spending forecast to top £41 billion by the end of the decade. A major factor behind the rise is the soaring number of people claiming PIP for disabling psychiatric disorders – such as depression, anxiety and PTSD. Mental health conditions now account for nearly two in five (39%) of all claims, with numbers more than doubling over the last six years.
You can check the number and proportion of PIP claimants where you live, along with the main disabilities, using our interactive map below.
Musculoskeletal conditions – including chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and degenerative diseases like arthritis – represent the second-largest category, followed by neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s.
Figures published by the House of Commons Library show that psychiatric disorders are now the main reason for PIP payments in every parliamentary constituency in England and Wales.
Liverpool Walton has the highest proportion of PIP claimants in England and Wales, with nearly one in five working-age adults (19.7%) receiving the payment. More than two in five claimants in the constituency receive PIP for a psychiatric disorder. Easington in the North East has the second-highest proportion of working-age claimants (18.0%), followed closely by Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney (17.8%).
The figures show that working-age adults are far more likely to claim PIP in the North and Wales than across London and the South of England. Regional figures show about one in eight working-age adults claim PIP in the North East (12.1%) and in Wales (11.9%), and one in nine in the North West (10.7%).
In contrast, only one in 15 claim PIP in London (6.6%) and the South East (6.7%). Across England and Wales, the average is around one in 12 working-age adults (8.6%).
Liverpool Walton has the highest proportion of PIP claimants in England and Wales. (Image: Getty)
Top 10 areas with the highest proportion of PIP claimants
Jeremy Clarkson has faced backlash after recent comments about PIP. (Image: Getty)
The figures come after broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson faced a backlash for claiming young people could claim up to £194 per week “if they’ve got ants in their pants, or ADHD as it is now called, or some other head-based issue with an acronym”.
His comments followed a Times report showing more than 87,000 16- and 17-year-olds claim PIP, with over two-thirds receiving the higher rate of £194 a week for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions such as anxiety and ADHD. Mr Clarkson suggested the payout was £100 more than working a part-time shop job, arguing claimants should be made to send a weekly “thank you” email to taxpayers.
However, PIP is designed as an extra-cost benefit rather than an income replacement. It is non-means-tested, and eligibility depends on how a health condition impacts daily living and mobility, regardless of whether the claimant is employed. In many cases, the payments cover essential costs such as adapted transport, specialist equipment, and personal care that enable disabled people to remain in employment.
Despite this, an independent review of disability benefits recently concluded the current system is “no longer fit for purpose”. The Timms Review found the PIP application and assessment process causes severe distress, with applicants describing a system that “breaks” them rather than encouraging independence.
The review noted that onerous reassessments cause mental and physical exhaustion, forcing some disabled people to withdraw from work or social life. Led by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms, it was launched last year in response to backbench Labour opposition to proposed benefit cuts. A final report is due next year.
Burnham said he planned to bring ‘substantial change’ to the social care system (Image: Getty)
In a recent interview, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he planned to bring “substantial change” to the social care system.
While committing to reduce the national welfare bill, Mr Burnham told the BBC he would not “go straight to blaming those people” who rely on support.
He said: “What I would say is that there are people in the benefits system, young people in their 20s, who have been, I would say, quite seriously let down because the support wasn’t there for them when it should have been there.”
Asked whether current claimants could face reduced or removed benefits, Mr Burnham advocated making support conditional on taking up available opportunities.
He added: “I think it’s a good thing that the Government has given guarantees of opportunities for young people. Where mental health support is needed, for instance, it should be provided in work to support people in an opportunity.”