Benefits explosion- where will it end?

[TheBlueKoala]

"PIP benefits explosion: Anxiety and depression handouts have nearly TRIPLED to £4.3bn since Covid - with autism and ADHD bill hitting £2.2bn and 'back pain' £1.6bn"

Something is not right here. When I have written before on here telling about people I know who claim for anxiety although they have rich social lives (funded by 440£ extra per month from PIP) I've had many people telling me that it's not possible etc. It sure is. How many 16 year olds are claiming PIP for anxiety?

Instead of benefits why not pay for therapy- invest massively in the NHS mental health support so that people with anxiety, adhd and autism can see a therapist regularly to help them. This would make a difference for tje individual and the society. Throwing out money won't.

AINBU- I agree with about
AIBU- No, extra money is always useful

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15510221/PIP-benefits-anxiety-depression-austism-ADHD-pain-Covid-Labour.html

This. It's not either or, or us and them, many people work and pay taxes and also get benefits.

Part of the increase in disability claimants is also due to raising the pension age, which strangely did not make those disabled and ill old people suddenly able to carry on working 🤷

They replied to me. And then I said that because of her post I understand more about the debilitating MH issues and then I said I was on side.

ADHD medication takes the edge off my anxiety. And yes, I agree that young people should get help with choosing the career that is right for them - that would certainly help. But really I could have done with much much more than that.

For various practical reasons, online shopping is not suitable for me, but I have solved the food shopping problem by going to a much further away small shop. It’s just annoying because it is far away.

The trouble is there are literally millions of
things in normal life that cause anxiety. It’s just not possible to find an adjustment for everything and there also many things that I have no control over. Eg Dogs off leads, unpleasant noises

i have had lots and lots of counselling. That has helped a little.

The problem is, even if all the people who are claiming for anxiety and depression are genuinely claiming, the country can't afford to give it everyone who is genuinely claiming. So what is the solution? Because soon there won't be enough money to give it to the people who are in even greater need. So there needs to be some sort of alternative provision for those who would potentially be able to work with treatment and therapy which will hopefully cheaper overall than paying PIP to them.

This.

I hope that you are able to access some treatment as agoraphobia and panic are treatable with SSRIs and CBT especially in a person who has recovered previously. Of course chronic pain and movement restrictions are a limiting factor but should not preclude efforts to improve the anxiety disorder.

I actually do believe that most depression and anxiety can be treated enough to get people could get back to a point where they could work. But they do need something to live off whilst that process takes place and its actually a slow process. My dh had a nervous breakdown, luckily his employer had good sick pay and paid for support. It took 9 months and a phased return to get back to work full time. Not all employers are that good or get ill when not in employment.

Adhd and asd arent curable. Both vary a lot. Some people can learn strategies which support them to work if thats whats preventing work. Others cant.

The OP applies her statement in a blanket fashion, saying that 'people with autism, ADHD and anxiety' can be helped. I'm just pointing out that it really isn't that simple.

But why assume they don't want to work or are unable to do so?

The simple fact is that most employers don't want the hassle of disabled employees, who may take time off sick or need inconvenient adjustments.

Someone upthread said, employers need incentives to employ disabled people, or they just won't.

Stop blaming the disabled people for this.

Have they tried doing a min wage job recently for a longish period of time?
A series of governments have allowed large employers to treat employees like shit. In theory there are protections but in practice not so much, not if you don't have money for a long winded employment tribunals

Yet employment legislation and practices HAVE improved. Our parents worked very hard in comparison to today. So what has changed in society?

The UK's economy is in decline, GDP per capita places the UK below many European countries. That's the reality...I don't think benefits should be used for nails as we already have free healthcare and free education. Something has to change, perhaps PIP should be means tested against household income.

PIP is not an out of work benefit. Some people might go get a job and still get PIP.

MH claims are mostly in the 16-30 group. Not the 60-66 group.

Omg I'm so sorry are your poor little able bodied feelings hurt? Am I making you feel sad that you aren't going to die young? Do you wish every day was a struggle for reasons completely out of your control? Bless.

Exactly. So awfully insensitive.

Imagine saying to someone: “Can you describe to me what lung cancer feels like”

I was replying to a poster who said therapy wasn’t a cure for autism. I didn’t mention autism first. I lack a lot of basic skills myself due to my ADHD (diagnosed ) and am waiting for an autism assessment. I have huge sympathies. What I said was SOME conditions that people claim PIP for can be helped. I Have had various lots of therapy over the years and none of them have helped.

Thank you for your honesty. I wish more people would step up and admit what’s really going on.

Meds for anxiety as well as ADHD meds? That is a prove helpful intervention and CBT is more effective in combination with medication. Obviously no obligation to reply just making a suggestion and I accept probably one you have thought of however lots of people are sceptical or anxious about taking medication or don’t persist past the initial side effects and therefore don’t end up getting something that can help so I thought I would mention it.

Tax credits dont exist anymore
People don't DLA for having ADHD they get it for howcit impacts them.

Yes but that wouldn't cover bills and mortgage/ rent etc so no way anyone could survive on it. Most people who want and need to work are looking for full time work.

Yes, I agree, but when you talk to people about this, they’ll often talk about lack of jobs that they want to do and low pay for a reason not to look for work - for many it is a job issue rather than just a health one.

The truth is, a lot of people who are benefit reliant, aren’t willing to go into work unless they will be significantly better off and that’s just not realistic for someone who lacks skills/ education or experience.

That kind of post suggests that everyone on Pip and lcwra is a scammer - they aren't.

Sadly I can't take the credit! Must have been another poster.

"Recent Forecast (2025-26): About 10.6% of GDP (£323.1bn for Great Britain).
Peak (2020-21): Around 14.3% of GDP due to the pandemic's impact.
Pre-Pandemic (2019-20): About 12.3% of GDP."

That's the AI overview of the search 'Benefits as a proportion of GDP'.

We are spending less on benefits than we did in 2019-2020 (pre-pandemic).

So, either benefits claims have not exploded, or the amount we are spending on each claim has reduced to the extent that the overall benefit bill has reduced proportionally, although increased in absolute terms.

It is not just about the money. It is also about finding a job that wont make your illness or disability worse. It is not as easy as just finding any job to do. There is also the problem that employers just dont want to employ disabled people either.

Well done, you've proved my point