A new map has laid bare the reality behind Cornwall’s rising benefits bill, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that a generation has been let down by a lack of support.
The number of people in England and Wales claiming personal independence payments (PIP), the main disability benefit, has passed four million for the first time. Claimant numbers have roughly doubled since 2019, and PIP spending is forecast to top £41 billion by the end of the decade. Around 40,000 claimants live in Cornwall, where one in 11 working-age adults (9.5%) receives the payment. A major factor behind the rise is the soaring number of people claiming PIP for disabling psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Camborne and Redruth has the highest proportion of PIP claimants in Cornwall and the 7th highest in the South West, with around one in 10 working-age adults (10.4%) receiving the payment. More than one in three claimants in the constituency receive PIP for a psychiatric disorder (35.9%). St Austell and Newquay has the second-highest proportion of working-age claimants in Cornwall (10.1%), followed by South East Cornwall (10.0%).
Check the number and proportion of PIP claimants where you live, along with the main disabilities, using our interactive map.
The figures show that working-age adults are far more likely to claim PIP in the North and Wales than across London and the South of England. About one in eight working age adults claim PIP in the North East (12.1%) and in Wales (11.9%), and one in nine in the North West (10.7%). In contrast, only one in 15 claim PIP in London (6.6%) and the South East (6.7%). Across England and Wales as a whole, the average stands at around one in 12 working-age adults (8.6%).
Mental health conditions now account for nearly two in five (39%) of all claims, with numbers more than doubling over the last six years. Musculoskeletal conditions, including chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and degenerative diseases like arthritis, represent the second-largest category, followed by neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.
Figures published by the House of Commons Library show that psychiatric disorders are now the main reason for PIP payments in every parliamentary constituency in England and Wales. The figures come after broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson faced a backlash for claiming young people could claim up to £194 per week “if they’ve got ants in their pants, or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as it is now called, or some other head-based issue with an acronym”.
His comments followed a Times report showing more than 87,000 16 and 17-year-olds claim PIP, with over two-thirds receiving the higher rate of £194 a week for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions such as anxiety and ADHD. Mr Clarkson suggested the payout was £100 more than working a part-time shop job, arguing claimants should be made to send a weekly "thank you" email to taxpayers. However, PIP is designed as an extra-cost benefit rather than an income replacement. It is non-means-tested, and eligibility depends on
New Map Reveals Cornwall PIP Claim Hotspots