UK's disability welfare bill tops £100 billion, exceeding defence spending by a third

Around seven million people in Britain — more than 10 per cent of the population — now claim at least one sickness or disability benefit, with spending set to exceed £100 billion (over HK$1 trillion) this year, about a third more than defence spending, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

The number of working-age claimants has surged more than 60 per cent in six years to 4.7 million from 2.9 million in 2019. Excluding healthcare, welfare spending has risen by a quarter in four years and is on course to hit £130 billion in the next four.

Many newer claims are for mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and ADHD, which are harder to verify than physical disabilities. Between 2017 and 2025, disability claims for cancer doubled, while claims for all psychiatric issues surged fourfold.

The report cited cases of fraud, including Catherine Wieland, who claimed about £700 a month in disability benefits in 2021, saying she was too anxious to go outside, while visiting hair salons, restaurants, an amusement park and flying to Mexico to zipline and ride a quad bike. She pleaded guilty to fraud and must repay about £23,000.

The Motability scheme, which allows eligible claimants to lease a new car every three years by forgoing about £320 a month, now accounts for about one in seven new car sales in the UK. Last year 860,000 people had a Motability car.

Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer planned to tighten eligibility to save £5 billion a year by 2030 but abandoned the cuts after backlash. His successor Andy Burnham has pledged to address welfare but not through what he calls "crude cuts."

The report noted the UK's borrowing costs are higher than any G7 country, with 10-year bond yields rising to 5.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent at the start of the year. Analysts said the surge in welfare spending is "clearly not sustainable."

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓