Over the past five years, Britain has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people claiming disability benefits. There are now 2.8 million working-age adults who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness, a figure that has risen by over 700,000 since 2019. Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are also increasing rapidly, with over 50,000 new applications every month.

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are increasing rapidly, with over 50,000 new applications every month

It is certainly true that the pandemic contributed to these figures, but the UK is the only G7 country that has not seen economic inactivity fall back toward pre-Covid levels. The UK is now a stark outlier. What appears to be driving this extraordinary surge is the number of mental health-related claims, particularly among younger adults.

As pupils return this week for the new academic year, what is apparent from these statistics is that the escalator for this welfare dependency starts in our schools. The number of 16-19 year-olds receiving PIP has more than doubled since 2019, and 70 per cent of all PIP claims among under-25s are due to mental health or behavioural conditions. In England, one in five pupils receive Special Educational Needs (SEN) support, often tied to emotional or psychological diagnoses. Many are leaving school not only with disrupted attendance and limited qualifications, but already formally labelled as having some form of incapacity. A........

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