Disability charities have strongly criticised a new report from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) that recommends people diagnosed with conditions such as moderate depression, ADHD, and lower-back pain should not be eligible for cash benefits. The report, which proposes classifying these conditions as 'non-work-limiting', has sparked outrage among campaign groups.
Proposal for 'Emergency Handbrake' on Welfare Spending
The TBI argues that such conditions should not automatically prevent individuals from working, suggesting this approach could serve as an 'emergency handbrake' on welfare spending. The think tank claims it could save £11.5 billion by 2029 and urges ministers to use secondary legislation to push through the changes, which would face reduced scrutiny from MPs.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated it will 'consider' the report, but Mencap, a leading learning disability charity, has described the proposals as 'deeply unhelpful and ill-informed'. Jon Sparkes, Mencap's chief executive, said the research 'ignores the lived reality of people with a learning disability and plays to a populist trope about welfare'.
Charity Leaders Respond
'Our evidence is clear: people with a learning disability want to work,' Sparkes said. 'What they lack is consistent, specialist support and employers willing and equipped to give them a fair chance. Slapping labels on people and denying them benefits will not tackle the root cause. It will push people into deeper anxiety, misery and poverty. That's not reform, it's a recipe for making things worse.'
The TBI report notes that Britain is not alone in experiencing a deterioration in mental health since the pandemic, but highlights that the number of people moving onto long-term benefits as a result is more unique to the country. It points to 2.8 million people out of work due to ill health, including 185,000 young people aged 18-24, nearly double the 94,000 in 2012.
Welfare Spending Concerns
The increase has raised concerns about the UK's welfare spending, with the DWP estimated to spend £77.1 billion on health and disability benefits this financial year, up from £49.1 billion before the pandemic in 2019. This compares to £146.1 billion on the state pension. The government is currently reviewing the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to make it 'fit and fair for the future'.
PIP was at the centre of Labour's plans to cut welfare spending last year, but proposals to tighten assessment criteria faced fierce opposition from campaign groups and MPs. Over 100 Labour MPs threatened to vote against the government, leading to a backtrack and a review announced by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms.
Further Criticism from Disability Groups
Charles Gillies, policy co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium and senior policy officer at the MS Society, expressed concern that the TBI is trying to force harmful benefit cuts onto the government's agenda. 'We urge the government to remember that disabled people, campaigners and MPs didn't stand for such harmful cuts last time, and to reject these proposals,' he said.
Tom Pollard, head of policy at mental health charity Mind, described the proposals as a 'discriminatory and simplistic response to a hugely complex challenge', noting that eligibility for health and disability benefits is already based on functional assessments of how a condition affects a claimant's ability to work.
TBI Defends Proposals
In response to the criticism, Ryan Wain, Senior Director of policy and politics at TBI, said: 'Up to 1,000 people a day are entering a system that, for most of them, offers no treatment, no route back to work and no plan. We are proposing a handbrake to fix that in the short term as the government rightly builds out longer term, wholesale reform on this broken system.'
Wain highlighted that around a third of PIP assessments are completed without any external clinical evidence, 93 per cent of fit notes say 'not fit for work' with no adjustments, and fewer than 1 in 100 Universal Credit Health claimants move into work each month. 'A system with those numbers is losing the trust of the public - and when that trust goes, it is people with the most severe conditions who pay the price,' he added.
'That is how you end up in a culture war over the existence of mental health conditions. Our proposal is the antidote to that not an example of it.'
Government Response
A DWP spokesperson said: 'We agree that the system we inherited left too many people written off - without treatment or proper help into work. That is a failure the government is determined to fix, through reforms with opportunity at their heart. We're already acting: we've rebalanced Universal Credit, saving nearly £1 billion; increased face-to-face assessments; and improved use of NHS evidence — all while ensuring those who genuinely can't work are always protected. We will consider the TBI's report.'
