What's fueling the problem

An interesting read from the New Economics Foundation last year: https://neweconomics.org/2025/05/whats-behind-the-rise-in-disability-benefit-claims

Some of this is now a little out of date, tho interestingly they say, ''Rather than indicating that PIP is being awarded to people less in need or deserving of the support than in the past, our analysis suggests that the rise in claims is symptomatic of rising rates of disability combined with worsening hardship. A rise in disability makes more people eligible for PIP, while worsening hardship means that more people who were previously eligible for PIP, but did not apply for it, now feel the need to apply for additional financial support.''

I'm not sure Timm's review of PIP will give the answers as to who should be able to claim PIP due to any diagnosis; indeed they don't appear to be questioning this.

PIP is actually widely recognised as being underclaimed, not overclaimed. A lot of people who are eligible never apply at all. This can be due to not realising they qualify (especially with mental health or less visible conditions), finding the process too stressful, or worrying about being turned down. So rising claim numbers don’t necessarily mean something is wrong, it can also mean more people are finally getting the support they’re entitled to.

It’s also important to keep in mind that fraud rates for PIP are very low. The vast majority of people claiming it are genuine and have real needs. In fact one of the bigger issues is that many people are initially refused and then go on to win their cases on appeal, which suggests the system can sometimes be too strict rather than too lenient.

So rather than indicating widespread misuse, an increase in claims is more likely to reflect growing awareness, better access to information, and people seeking help that they may have gone without in the past.

I think that for a lot of young people the world is a depressing place. I heard this morning that the number of people being diagnosed with body dysmorphia over the past three years has dramatically increased. I would ascribe much of this to social media portraying images that are unobtainable. If I were a young person facing a lack of jobs, the prospect of never owning a home of my own and climate change/collapse I might feel depressed. There is a lack of support for young people with mental health services being underfunded and very few facilities such as youth clubs.