Ballooning welfare bill driven by mental ill-health

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown what many people could guess: mental health among working adults in the UK has worsened in the past five years. But the details are stark.

Prescriptions for antidepressants have risen 12 per cent, while there has been a 24 per cent jump in working-age ‘deaths of despair’ – attributed to alcohol, drugs or suicide.

The kicker: more than half of the increase in disability benefit claims since the pandemic is linked to mental ill-health.

The timing of the report is significant, with Labour in cuts mode. Ahead of this month’s spring statement, the government will unveil major reforms to the welfare system to tackle the bill for long-term sickness and disability benefits, set to climb to £70 billion by 2030.

Keir Starmer, who faces a backbench rebellion, has told Labour MPs the welfare bill is “unsustainable”, “unfair” and “indefensible”.

What seems indefensible is the country’s inadequate provision for mental healthcare – and it’s not clear welfare reforms will tackle that.