UK on track for record 1.3 million children on disability benefits next year

The number of children receiving disability benefits in Britain is now set to hit a historic milestone, with Department for Work and Pensions forecasts indicating 1.03 million young people will be claiming support by 2027.

At present, around 900,000 children receive Disability Living Allowance, but fresh government figures show this total will exceed one million significantly earlier than previously expected.

Just three years ago, officials believed that crossing the one-million mark would not happen until well into the 2030s.

Claims linked to behavioural disorders are rising at the fastest rate, having quadrupled since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among children under the age of five, behavioural issues have now become the leading reason parents apply for disability support payments, underlining a major shift in the nature of claims.

Joe Shalam, of the Centre for Social Justice, warned that the projections should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers.

"These forecasts should ring alarm bells. Our research has found GPs increasingly concerned that young people are being pushed into medical and welfare pathways rather than their needs being met early through family, school and community support," he said.

The think tank researcher cautioned that growing numbers of young people risk becoming trapped in long-term benefit dependency.

"The danger is that more children every day are being put on a conveyor belt towards long-term dependency. That is bad for the taxpayer but far worse for the children whose potential is being written off before adulthood," Shalam added.

Government expenditure on child disability benefits is forecast to climb to £7.7billion by the start of the next decade, marking a 40 per cent rise in real terms compared with the previous financial year.

Learning difficulties remain the most common reason for claims, accounting for over a third of all cases, yet payments linked to behavioural conditions are growing considerably faster.

The surge has been particularly pronounced among girls, with claims increasing sixfold since the pandemic, especially among teenagers and those aged four to five.

Parents of boys with behavioural disorders remain nearly twice as likely to seek disability support compared with those raising girls.

Notably, nearly 5,000 families with children aged two or younger are now receiving benefits related to behavioural conditions.

Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, expressed concern that distinctions between ordinary life challenges and genuine mental health conditions have become increasingly unclear for younger generations.

"The line has blurred between the ups and downs of daily life and mental illness, especially for a generation of young people," she said.

"The risk is, they will sign onto Pip at 18 and absences from school will turn into missing out on work. That's a waste of talent and a huge cost to the taxpayer."

The DWP stated that current sickness benefit reforms are projected to deliver savings of nearly £2 billion by the early 2030s.

A departmental spokesman confirmed that approximately 100 additional case managers are being trained to handle the rising volume of child disability claims.