Brits are claiming nearly £10,000 a year in benefits for conditions such as constipation and bedwetting as Labour announced up to £6 billion in welfare cuts. The personal independence payment (PIP) is meant to help with living costs for people with long-term physical or mental health conditions, and difficulty doing everyday tasks and getting around.
Claimants are allowed to spend the money on anything that helps their extra care or mobility needs. PIP is anticipated to cost the Government £37 billion in real terms by 2030, an increase from £15 before the pandemic. There are currently 1.3 million people eligible for the maximum payment of £9,500 a year, and the reasons they claim this money are incredibly varied.
According to data from the Department of Work and Pensions, 307 claimed the maximum amount for eczema in October last year.
Other strange cases included 59 for constipation, 44 for a cleft lip and palate, 22 for food intolerance, 21 for bedwetting, 20 for haemorrhoids, and six for acne.
Another six received PIP payments, though not the maximum amount, for Munchausen syndrome – a condition where people pretend to be ill.
One of the biggest groups claiming £9,500 a year are people with anxiety and depression, of which there are more than 500,000.
Another 5,282 received it for alcohol misuse as of October last year, while another claimed it for long Covid.
This comes as Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced plans to bring down the benefits bill and get people back to work.
The changes would cut up to £6 billion in benefits payments, but the Government said there was a a “moral and an economic case” for an overhaul that would put the welfare system “back on a more sustainable path”.
The plans faced fierce criticism from the Opposition, with former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey questioning how they will actually benefit the economy.
She said: “How precisely will these benefit cuts be realised, given this Government’s anti-business budget which has seen businesses close at the fastest rate since Labour was last in office, and of those still standing, 30% are planning to cut staff to cope with the increase in the employers’ National Insurance contribution.
“Where are the jobs? We know Labour is the party of the magic money tree, is Labour now the party of the magic jobs tree too?”