The Bloomfield ward in Blackpool is the biggest benefits blackspot in England and Wales, with more than half of working-age adults living on out-of-work benefits, according to new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures.
The seaside town has two wards in the top 10 of a league table of welfare hotspots. Ministers at the Treasury and the DWP have repeatedly warned that the working-age benefits bill, swollen by a surge in sickness and disability claims since the pandemic, is growing faster than the country can afford.
Sir Keir Starmer's attempt to rein it in collapsed last year when his MPs forced him to abandon cuts to disability benefits, and any Labour Chancellor who tries again could be faced down by angry backbenchers.
One in six working-age adults on benefits
The DWP figures showed 6,091,858 working-age adults across England and Wales were on out-of-work benefits in March this year – one in six of the entire working-age population. Out-of-work benefits cover people on Universal Credit who are not required to look for a job, the sick and disabled on Employment and Support Allowance, and the dwindling number on Jobseeker's Allowance.
In Bloomfield, 2,880 of the 5,121 residents aged 16 to 64 are on them, and only one other ward in the country, Rhyl West on the North Wales coast, has passed the halfway mark. Blackpool, Tendring on the Essex coast and the Welsh valleys each have two wards in the ten worst.
Regional concentration of welfare hotspots
Every one of the 20 worst wards in the country is in the north of England, in Wales or on a faded stretch of coast, and Wales has 15 of the worst 50. The worst pockets of the big cities are Kirkdale East in Liverpool (43%), Penderry in Swansea (43%), Walker in Newcastle (43%), Marfleet in Hull (42%) and Birchfield in Birmingham (41%).
Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East in Birmingham has the biggest out-of-work caseload of any ward in the country, with 7,354 residents on the benefits, two in five of its working-age adults. Ely is the worst part of Cardiff at 38%, Little Horton in Bradford is on 37%, and Bulwell in Nottingham, Burngreave in Sheffield and Harpurhey in Manchester all stand at 36%.
London's worst ward is Northumberland Park in Haringey, where 35% of working-age adults are on out-of-work benefits. A third or more of working-age residents are on out-of-work handouts in 157 wards across England and Wales. More than a quarter are on them in 772 wards, one in every ten in the two countries.
Reactions to the figures
John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “These figures show how deeply welfare dependency has become embedded in some communities. When more than half of working-age adults in parts of Blackpool are on out-of-work benefits, taxpayers are right to ask whether the system is doing enough to move people back into employment.
“Ministers need to tackle the ballooning benefits bill, strengthen incentives to work and stop allowing whole areas to become trapped in long-term dependency.”
A Blackpool Council spokesperson said: “Blackpool Council delivers a range of specialist services to help residents improve their employment prospects by supporting people into work, developing skills and overcoming barriers to employment. We will continue to work closely with employers, education providers and community partners to ensure local residents can access opportunities, develop the skills employers need and secure sustainable employment.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We want the system to protect those who can never work, but for those that can work we are determined to break down the barriers that too often stand in the way. That’s why we’re investing £3.5billion in employment support for disabled people and people with long term conditions, while tacking the perverse incentives in that encourage ill health.
“We’re also investing £2.5billion into youth unemployment, which will create nearly one million jobs and training opportunities, while the Milburn and Timms Reviews will lay the foundation for sustainable reform.”
