Is it possible to have a sensible discussion about disability benefits?

[Pjnow]

According to Google 10% of working age people are in receipt of PIP and 6% of 0-15yos receive DLA.

I'm a proper lefty who believes absolutely in the welfare state, a safety net and that we should care properly for those with disabilities. A society should be judged on how it cares for its most vulnerable.

However 10% in receipt of disability benefits can't be sustainable. I know many people receiving PIP also work, it's not about that.

I'm just wondering what (if anything) can be done to make sure those who need support get it, without paying it to 10% of the population. I know not all disabilities are visble etc, but 10%?!

As of jan 2025 the stats were like this.

16.4% aged 16-29
20.9% aged 30-44
30.1% aged 45-59
30.9% aged 60-74

No, I work. I have issues like many others but I work.

Everyone does not mean what you think it means.

Exactly and asthma can be managed and people with it work.

Well a lot of people seem to be self-diagnosing.

When I was 12 years old a friend of mine had an asthma attack. And died.

Totally unserious condition, for all people.

Do you label people with diabetes? or just ND conditions?

it’s a diagnosis made by people far more qualified than you.

Not about disability payments but lots of benefit payments are to people in work on low wages. They should be paid more as otherwise tax payers are subsiding employer profits.

And do you think they’ll be awarded solely on self diagnosis alone? Do us an favour, educate yourself, please.

I'm on a few of the benefits groups on Facebook and people get asked to post their statements when they mention issues. The amount of rent people pay is ridiculous

They’re easy targets because they’re “invisible “ , “made up” and the product of “bad /lazy parenting “.

It’s the equivalent of a “bad back” stories from 15/20 years ago.

Is this the percent of population in each age bracket claiming PIP?

I don't understand your reply sorry, can you be a bit clearer.

they’re saying people focus on things like ASD and neurodiverse conditions because you can’t “see” them so to speak. it’s easy to deny something you can’t physically see or put it down to parenting etc.

Which there is never an outcry about, funny enough. There are plenty of threads always bashing disabled people, and how much they are costing the taxpayer, though .

And? I self diagnose myself as fucked up. It gets me a laugh and not much more.

I’m investigating ASD for DD. GP and school involved (and supportive) and me ofc. School had to fill a 10 pages form, I had to fill one too. This is just for pre screening to see if she qualifies to actually be assessed. She might get rejected. If she doesn’t, it’s a 2/3 year wait for someone to actually see her(considering going private if it goes to that stage) . What exactly am I /her gaining here ?

Ah right yes I agree thank you.

Yes. In England and Wales.

I haven’t read the full thread (been working) but I can come at this from the POV of someone with several conditions who does not claim disability and works.

I have an autoimmune disease, narcolepsy, chronic depression (24 years of medication- unfortunately we have a family history of severe depression/suicides) and Asperger’s.

My illnesses began as a child but I was brought up by two working parents and the expectation has always been that you work and earn and pay your way. My health issues made it so that certain careers were out of the question, but I was always going to be expected to find full time employment in whatever form I could cope with.
As a result I have always worked, despite great difficulties and often feeling very unwell. I think this probably skews my view a bit, but I do get frustrated by people who just sort of throw their hands up and decide they are too unwell to work. Don’t get me wrong, some people are, but I do believe that there are a number of people out there who actually could manage some form of work.
Honestly, my mental health is much improved by having a job too. It gives me routine, a reason to communicate with others and the drive to push through on hard days. I am proud that I pay my way, despite dealing with a lot of daily difficulties. If I did nothing, my depression would just sky rocket.

Resilience seems to have disappeared. Maybe it’s different because I have been unwell since I was young so I don’t know any different, but I’ve always had to battle to live a normal life. Maybe if people get illness later on in life, it’s more of a shock to their system and incapacitates them more? I don’t know.

I will continue to fight every day and I will continue to work in whatever capacity I can. If I can no longer do my current job, I will move into finding another type of work that suits my situation as best I can. For my own mental health as much as anything.

Can you share your source as i cant find something that matches that.

There's 3.8 million pip claimants and a working age population of 37 million in the last census but they think its higher now. It doesn't work out?

Good for you@Pricelessadvice. Of course, I take it, that you understand that we are all different, and will operate on an individualistic level, according to a person's capabilities. As a lot of posters have already said, the world of employment needs to be willing, and able to accommodate people with a wide range of disabilities. Working will always be out of reach for some people, no matter what.

You can claim disability AND work though? In fact millions of £££ goes unclaimed each year according to statistics.

I find the PIP system ridiculous. My father had a severe stroke in 2019. He still only gets three yearly PIP awards. As if he’s going to wake up one day magically recovered from his stroke after 6 years. It’s ridiculous. He is severely disabled ffs. 🤦‍♀️ just another source of stress to deal with on his behalf.

Honestly I wouldn’t feel right claiming because I can just about support myself. I do see why people would though. Maybe in the future if I had to drastically reduce my hours, I might need to. I always thought that being able to function/work would dramatically reduce my chances of getting PIP, especially after I read my friends forms. It seems you have to show that you can’t feed yourself/use utensils and stuff like that. I can do that sort of thing.

I suppose I wish that disability benefit for genuinely severely disabled people like your father would be increased, rather than the pot spread thinly amongst people who really COULD work.

This is my point though. Some people do and some don’t need it.
Being able to claim a £28k car for extreme anxiety which is used for leisure purposes ( unable to hold a job ) isn’t a good use if public money. Why would a second hand car at £5k be enough? Like lots of people have.

Mental health conditions dont just consist of anxiety and depression though
There are some conditions which are severe and enduring and some people will never be able to work with them