Welfare benefits for people with ADHD need an emergency handbrake, says Tony Blair’s thinktank

A new report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change warns the Government to apply an emergency handbrake to slow the rise in welfare benefit claimants, focusing on conditions including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

The report states that nearly 1,000 people in Britain sign on for welfare benefits each day, and that, in the vast majority of cases, these conditions do not limit an individual’s ability to work. It adds that the default presumption should be that these “non-work-limiting” conditions no longer attract cash benefits.

This classification is based on evidence that, for many individuals, work is compatible with ADHD and can even benefit their health and recovery, provided appropriate support and adjustments are available.

It suggests the initial focus should be on conditions that have driven the recent growth in incapacity claims, where the evidence base for work compatibility is strongest and where it is most difficult to objectively assess function. This could include:

• Mild to moderate depression and anxiety disorders
• Stress-related and adjustment disorders
• ADHD and related neurodevelopmental conditions where evidence supports work compatibility
• Non-specific low back pain and common musculoskeletal conditions.

The report says: “PIP is a cash benefit to cover the additional costs associated with disability. Although it is not an ‘out-of-work benefit’, that doesn’t mean it has no impact on a claimant’s incentive to work.”

ADHD and rise in welfare claims

The document highlights a significant rise in benefit claims among young people, noting that “four in five of these young people with a recorded condition on Universal Credit health are claiming due to mental-health or neurodevelopmental conditions.” This includes conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders, which fall within the broader neurodiversity spectrum.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change says it took independent legal advice from barristers on the proposals in this paper. The barristers’ view is that the emergency handbrake is unlikely to be successfully challenged under equalities law, as it is supported by a clear and robust evidence base.

It reports that polling, commissioned by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and conducted by YouGov, shows people are starting to tire of a system so clearly unfit for purpose. Around half of respondents believe that some of the conditions currently recognised by the system do not, in practice, limit people’s ability to work.

A better health support package

Where a condition is judged not to be enduring but likely to improve with treatment, the report says the system should act swiftly to provide that treatment. Early intervention is linked to better clinical outcomes and a higher likelihood of sustained return to work.

The government should therefore commission, at scale, evidence-based interventions targeting the conditions that have driven recent growth in incapacity claims. These should include:

• For common mental-health conditions: rapid-access digital and in-person mental-health provision
• For musculoskeletal conditions: structured physiotherapy and pain-management programmes
• For obesity: broader access to weight-management services, with the ability to prescribe GLP-1-type drugs.

Responses to the report on “welfare handbrake”

Tom Pollard, Head of Policy at Mind, said: “This proposal shows a complete misunderstanding of both mental health and the benefits system. The only thing it would achieve would be the undermining years of progress towards greater awareness and knowledge around mental health.

“A blanket rule to declare certain conditions ‘non work-limiting’ fails to recognise the impact living with conditions like depression or anxiety can have on somebody’s life. People do not get additional benefits because of a diagnosis. Decisions are based on a functional assessment of how health conditions or impairments impact people’s ability to work and live independently. In most cases, people are impacted by multiple health conditions or disabilities.

“If we want to support more people with mental health problems into work then we need to focus on tackling the real barriers to employment – a lack of quality mental health support, stigma in the workplace and a shortage of flexible job opportunities. Trying to shortcut the problem with crude cuts to benefit eligibility will do nothing to move us towards more people being able to live healthy, happy and independent lives.”

Jon Sparkes OBE, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: ‘This is a deeply unhelpful and ill-informed contribution that ignores the lived reality of people with a learning disability and plays to a populist trope about welfare. We should be backing our young people not penalising them.

“Our evidence is clear: people with a learning disability want to work. 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.”

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

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