Nearly one in six British adults – 6.7 million people – are now claiming out-of-work benefits. In over 3,300 neighbourhoods, claimants make up more than half the working-age population. In almost 19,000 they make up more than a third. 

An historic shift from unemployment benefits to health-related claims has hidden this national scandal. In the last six years, the number of working-age adults claiming due to incapacity rose by 61 per cent, even as the prevalence of disability increased by only 16 per cent. 

It is not hard to explain. Unlike in other countries, combining multiple cash-based benefits with a mental health claim exempts recipients from onerous work requirements and unlocks support that can deliver a tax-free income of over £27,000. Throw in the fall in face-to-face assessments and several years of legal judgments lowering the bar for conditions such as anxiety or ADHD and the case seems closed. 

This is the reverse of the supposed heyday of the welfare state

This is the reverse of the supposed heyday of the welfare state

But State of Dependency, a new report released this week by the Centre for Social Justice, (CSJ) suggests that more is going on. The 3,300 welfare hotspots are unevenly distributed. Birmingham has 116 of them. Liverpool has 112. Fifteen per cent of Blackpool’s neighbourhoods fit the........

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