Labor has “inherited a country that simply doesn’t work”, said Keir Starmer as he launched his country employment strategy this week. The British economy, he added, was struggling with chronic unemployment, skills shortages and a poorly functioning labor market.
Much of the debate since has focused on the record 2.8 million people unemployed due to long-term illness, and the 4.2 million people claiming disability and disability benefits. But questions remain about whether Britain is unhealthier than it used to be. If not, there must be other reasons why the claims have increased. Here the Guardian asks whether rising costs have really gotten out of control and what more can be done to help sick and disabled people into work.
Is Britain in the grip of a disease epidemic?
Measured solely by the rapid increase in claims for disability benefits since the pandemic, Britain’s health – or at least the prevalence of some conditions – appears to be worsening. Extension NHS waiting lists can be a cause and symptom of this phenomenon. About one in ten of the working-age population receives at least one sickness benefit (mainly the health element of universal credit) or disability benefit (personal independence benefit, or Pip), an increase of 1 million since 2019. Mental health and behavioral disorders account for about four in ten of all new claims – and about 70% of young adult claims.
Why is mental health issues a key factor in the rise in disability benefits?
There is little debate that the loss of social support during austerity, the economic and emotional shock of the pandemic and a prolonged cost of living crisis have had a profound effect on the country’s well-being. Young adults, who suffered massive disruption to their school and social lives at a critical stage of their development during Covid, were among the worst affected. This group’s claims have increased the most, to the point where: according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a 20-year-old today is as likely to claim a health-related benefit as a 39-year-old in 2019.
The political right claims that “mental health culture” has caused young people to over-medicalise the normal concerns of life, and this is undermined by a welfare system in which it is too easy to claim benefits. However, health professionals tend not to underestimate the severity of the mental health crisis. There is also no evidence that claiming health-related benefits – a notoriously difficult task – has become any less difficult. Although applications have risen – especially among young people – the proportion of successful awards has not changed, suggesting the system has not become smoother.
Will cutting back on disability and disability benefits reduce the number of claims?
The ‘stick’ theory of welfare policy favored by the right is that cutting or limiting benefits will force people to pull up their socks and get a job. A problem with this is that Pip is not dependent on whether someone works or not (it is a benefit to help with the extra costs of disability). Many Pip claimants are at work. Another problem is that cutting disability benefits impoverishes people already living in poverty (according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the majority of people in poverty have a chronic health condition or disability). This will likely make them less healthy and less able to return to work.
Could inadequate social services be partly to blame for the rise in poor health?
One theory is that the meagerness of key universal credit benefits for low incomes means that people are generally less healthy and more likely to claim additional disability or disability benefits to maximize income, especially when the cost of basic services such as food, energy and rent are low. high. “It has become increasingly difficult to survive on benefits if you are not classified as having a health problem or disability,” says Ben Baumberg Geiger, professor of social sciences at King’s College London. “It doesn’t mean people are making it up. Most do have health problems, but in the past (when benefits were higher) they would not have claimed them.”
Have the costs of disability and disability benefits gotten out of hand?
According to the IFS, the cost of these benefits increased by almost £13 billion between 2019-20 and 2023-24 due to rising case numbers. If trends continue, the bill is expected to rise from £48 billion to over £60 billion by the end of this decade. Although these are huge amounts, Baumberg Geiger says that total social security costs, as a percentage of GDP, have changed little since 2007. So it is wrong to say that benefit spending has gotten out of control. However, it is true that a greater share of social spending goes to disability and disability benefits.
What is the solution?
Previous attempts to cut social spending through tough benefits measures – such as the disability benefit reforms that saw the introduction of Pip in 2013 – have neither reduced the size of the bill nor reduced the figures . Labour’s focus is on providing more skills, training and support to job seekers, investing in mental health care and reducing NHS waiting lists. A decision is still to be made on whether to go ahead with a planned £3 billion cut in disability benefits inherited from the previous government.