Mental Health Benefits Claims At An All Time High

Since the COVID-19 lockdown, nearly a million people have claimed Universal Credit (UC) due to mental health problems.

Rising Mental Health Claims

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed that 69% of UC health claims were made by individuals with mental health and behavioural disorders. Between January 2022 and February 2024, there were 978,300 mental health-related claims.

Demographic Insights

DWP data indicates that more working-age women are claiming UC for health reasons compared to men. Additionally, people living in Wales are the most likely to claim health benefits without the obligation to look for work.

Policy Changes and Controversy

In April, the Conservative government announced plans to change the work capability assessment to ‘clamp down on fraudsters’, aiming to save £12 billion a year by 2030. The Conservatives’ manifesto highlighted the need to tighten how the benefits system assesses capability for work, criticising the “default” sick note process wherein “94% of sick notes are being signed off as ‘not fit to work’”.

Prime Minister Sunak argued that it was “wrong” that 65% of those undergoing a capability assessment are considered unfit to work, compared to 20% in 2011. He stated, “People are not three times sicker than they were a decade ago.”

Opposing Views

However, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, countered by saying, “People are sicker than they were, with more complex healthcare needs.” The Disability News Service also noted that the work capability assessment was harsher in 2011 before its "most serious flaws were exposed".

Statistical Concerns

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) challenged comments by Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, who claimed that in 94% of cases, doctors sign off patients as not fit to work when they report feeling “rather down and bluesy”. OSR pointed out that the reasons for granting fit notes are varied, adding that 74% of fit notes issued between October 2022 and September 2023 “do not have a diagnosis recorded in the data so we can’t tell why they were issued”.

Conclusion

The increase in mental health-related claims for Universal Credit highlights the growing mental health crisis in the UK. As the government seeks to reform the benefits system, it faces criticism from healthcare leaders and statistical bodies, emphasizing the complexity of addressing mental health issues and the need for a nuanced approach to welfare reform.