People with mild ADHD and anxiety "should not get benefits," says Labour MP
People with mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety should not get benefits, a Labour MP chairing an all-party group on mental health has said.
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Sojan Joseph, MP for Ashford, said “You can’t just say all ADHDs or all [people with] autism can’t work or should be on benefits. [The system] should distinguish between the severity of the illness.
"The current system doesn’t have that.”
Labour has faced pressure to clamp down on Britain’s spiralling cost of sickness and disability benefits.
Since the pandemic, the cost has soared to £58bn and is projected to rise to £78bn by 2030.
Andy Burnham, the putative prime minister, has ruled out making “crude” cuts to welfare payments.
Mr Joseph continued: “Once you start claiming benefits, it’s hard to get people out of that benefit system.
"This is where the long-term work needs to happen to identify children at a younger age. Children need to get that help earlier on during their school days.
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“We have a culture of signing people off for the rest of their lives. Some of these conditions are quite fluctuating, especially the mental health conditions.
“People may be unwell for a certain period of time. They need to be treated and then get back into work. Work itself has a therapeutic effect.”
A major review of the main disability benefit in England and Wales is currently under way and is considering whether there are possible alternatives to cash payments.
Sir Stephen Timms, the minister leading the review, said it is looking at whether some claimants in receipt of personal independence payments (Pip) could be offered other kinds of support for example NHS treatments, specialised equipment or employment support.
An interim report described Pip as “not fit for purpose”.
Pip claims, especially for conditions such as anxiety and ADHD, have soared in the years since the Covid pandemic, putting increasing pressure on the public finances.