The Times view on mental illness and the benefits bill: Dealing with Disorder
Mental ill health is driving a surge in disability claims
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Mental illness is real and debilitating. Its sufferers need treatment and deserve no stigma. It is also an intensifying economic problem that is contributing to a dramatic rise in the costs to taxpayers of disability benefits. Official forecasts by the Department for Work and Pensions suggest that the cost of these benefits will rise by around £17 billion to £48 billion a year in current prices by the end of this decade. The principal reason for this dramatic rise is the incidence of illnesses such as depression and anxiety, on top of the general ageing of the population.
There are no easy answers to how to curb the spiralling costs of ill health. But it should be a shared aim across the political spectrum to
