Children aged 15 or 16 in England and Wales are more likely to receive disability benefit than adults in their 20s to 40s, according to a study which shows a sharp rise in disability benefit claims for conditions such as autism and ADHD.
The new reportThe think tank Resolution Foundation says families Disability Living Allowance (DLA) This number has more than doubled over the past 10 years to 682,000.
The biggest change has been among teenagers, with 8% of all 15-year-olds receiving DLA last year, up from 5% in 2013.
The study found that only adults aged 52 and over were more likely to claim disability benefits than 15- and 16-year-olds.
The think tank said the increase in DLA payments was “almost entirely driven by payments for children with a predominantly learning disability, behavioural disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)”.
Understanding and diagnosis of these disorders has increased rapidly in recent decades. By UCL researchers i got you 20-fold increase in ADHD diagnoses between 2000 and 2018In another paper, Autism diagnoses have increased 787% in the 20 years since 1998..
Louise Murphy, author of the report and senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The prevalence of disability across the UK is leading to an increase in the number of children receiving disability allowance, with the increase being most pronounced among older children.”
The report suggests part of the change may reflect a sharp increase in parents applying for additional support for their children’s special educational needs in the classroom.
“Some of these pressures may be manifesting in claims for child disability allowance, with families more likely to apply for child DLA after receiving a diagnosis or explanation of their child’s special needs,” the report said.
But Mr Murphy warned that the numbers fall off sharply once recipients reach adulthood and that 25 per cent of DLA recipients are not receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which disabled adults can apply for.
“While there may be positive reasons for no longer claiming support, it is a huge concern that young people are leaving the system and losing support at an arbitrary date of 16, rather than when their life circumstances change,” Mr Murphy said.
James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It’s worrying that so many young disabled people are losing financial support into adulthood.”
“Having a disability significantly increases the costs of living and benefits such as DLA and Pip are an absolute lifeline to help cover these extra costs.”
“We know that moving from DLA to PIP can be difficult and stressful because our welfare system is incredibly complex, adversarial and difficult to navigate. The new Government must investigate the real reasons behind these figures and work with disabled people to fix our broken welfare system,” he added.
Dan Paskins, director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, said: “These figures are of concern to the UK government as we also know that children with disabilities are more likely to grow up in poverty.”
“Our social security system must support children with disabilities not only during their early childhood but also during the critical years as they move into adulthood. This research makes it clear that policymakers need to analyse the systems that support children with disabilities as they grow up.”
DLA includes a “transportation” and “care” component and can be worth between £28.70 and £184.30 a week, depending on how much extra help a child needs.
The total cost of paying benefits has risen in real terms over the past decade from £1.9 billion to £4 billion as claims have soared.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, the expenditure watchdog, Over the next five years, the cost of all disability benefits will increase by almost half.£58 billion. This includes DLA and PIP, as well as Carer’s Allowance, which is paid to older people who need care.
A Government spokesman said: “We are committed to ensuring that parents of disabled children, including those with neurodevelopmental disorders, have equal access to support as awareness and formal diagnosis grows.”
“As our children reach adulthood, our support continues for those in need, as we work to break down barriers and ensure opportunity for all.”
