More than FOUR MILLION people now getting disability benefits after PIP claims surge by almost 500,000 to record high under Labour

More than four million people are now getting disability benefits after the number of claimants surged by almost 500,000 to a record high under Labour.More than 100,000 additional people were handed Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for psychiatric conditions including ADHD last year – almost 40 per cent of all new disability benefit claims.A total of 4.09 million people in England and Wales were entitled to claim PIP as of July 31, according to new data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).This is an increase of 262,045 – or 7 per cent – from 3.83 million at the same point last year and represents a rise of 484,843 people claiming disability benefits since Labour came to power.The number of people claiming PIP for ADHD has more than doubled in three years. Claims for the condition rose from 13,480 in 2022-23 to 31,790 in 2025-26 – an increase of 135.8 per cent.Across all psychiatric conditions, 108,660 new claims were awarded in 2025-26 – representing 37.1 per cent of the new claim awards made in the year to July.Of the 4.09 million total PIP claimants, some 83 per cent are of working age. People aged 50 and over accounted for 55 per cent of that figure, 30 to 49-year-olds made up almost 29 per cent and 16 to 29-year-olds almost 17 per cent.Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: ‘Our sickness benefits system is broken and Labour refuse to fix it. It’s too quick to write people off and too slow to help them into work. And it’s costing us a fortune. A long-awaited review by welfare minister Sir Stephen Timms is expected to report back in the autumn. An interim report found the system for claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is too 'stressful' for claimants‘Labour’s work and pensions secretary said himself that all Labour MPs want to do is tax people more to pay for more benefits.‘The Conservatives are doing a root and branch review of our sickness benefits system. We will stop claims for low-level mental health, rapidly re-assess hundreds of thousands of claims face-to-face the moment we enter government, and get Britain working again.’DWP figures show that spending on PIP stood at £16.3billion in 2019-20, when adjusted for inflation to today’s prices, and had increased to £27.3billion by 2024-25. It is forecast to rise to £41.5billion by 2030-31.PIP is the main benefit paid to someone who has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, and is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs.The number of people claiming PIP has ballooned since the pandemic and more than 1,000 new claims are being approved every day, largely driven by a huge surge in mental health diagnoses.Last year Labour was forced to abandon plans to trim the disability benefits bill by £5billion following a major backbench rebellion.Instead the proposals to tighten PIP eligibility were shelved pending a review – despite the Government’s own forecast warning it will cost £70billion a year by the end of this Parliament without action.The Government-commissioned review, led by social security minister Sir Stephen Timms, is due to report back this autumn. Its interim findings in July branded the system ‘no longer fit for purpose’.However Sir Stephen’s interim report also suggested that disability benefits should be made as 'easy as possible' to claim as it is too 'stressful' for claimants, leading opposition politicians to warn it will do nothing to cut the runaway benefits bill.The new DWP figures showed that, of the more than four million PIP claimants at the end of July, some 1.6 million were listed as having a psychiatric disorder. This represents 39 per cent of all disability benefits claimants – the highest proportion for any type of disability.Some 268,965 claimants were classed as having autistic spectrum disorders, a further 442,666 had mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, while 106,087 had ADHD.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Andy Burnham believes 'we have got to get serious as a country about welfare reform'.But they added 'that doesn’t mean crude cuts that simply push people into crisis and create bigger costs elsewhere'.The No10 spokesman said: 'Our work on welfare across the board is about tackling the structural drivers and changing the nature of the support, and that we ultimately deliver a system that sets people up for success rather than pays for failure.'