Under-25s claiming £13,000 in benefits EVERY MINUTE as ministers slammed for failing to get young Brits working

UNDER 25s claim £13,000 of Universal Credit and disability benefits every minute – as ministers were slammed for failing to get young Brits into work. Taxpayers are handing out a startling five figure sum every 60 seconds to 16-24 year olds, including hundreds of thousands of NEETs who are not in work or education. Analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data shows more than 1.2 million benefit claims are currently logged by young adults across the UC and Personal Independence Payment schemes. It means youth welfare is costing the Treasury nearly £6.7 billion a year. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! The estimated £13,106-a-minute bill is made up of £7,048 a minute on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for young claimants, plus a further £6,058 a minute on the minimum standard allowance for Universal Credit. Our breakdown of the disability figures reveals that a surge in autism and mental health conditions is driving the staggering PIP cost. Autism is now the single most expensive condition for under-25s on Personal Independence Payments, costing the taxpayer £2,545 every single minute. ADHD is the second highest drain at £877 a minute, while mixed anxiety and depression disorders are costing roughly £470 every 60 seconds. Senior Tory MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke told The Sun: “It’s an unsustainable position and no way to run the welfare state. “Labour want to spend £13k a minute on this and they have totally failed to grasp the problem. Most read in News Money “If this continues, not only will the number of NEETs go up and not down, the income tax to pay for them won’t be generated.” A Department of Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: “Every young person deserves the chance to earn and learn, which is why we’ve brought forward a £2.5 billion youth employment support package involving cash payments, alongside the biggest reforms to apprenticeships in a generation. “We are also investing £3.5 billion in employment support for sick and disabled people, including young people, to help them move off of welfare and into work, driving growth across the country.” They added that both PIP and Universal Credit can be claimed while in work. Comment now