Why have 100,000 people signed up with ADHD in the UK? | | Health Issues

Government figures in the United Kingdom show that more young people than ever are complaining of a disability after being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) amid growing calls for benefits to be improved.

According to government figures from July 2024 to April 2026, at least 40 per cent of those receiving disability payments, also known as Personal Independence payments (PIP), are people with a mental illness.

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Also, the number of people who claimed to have ADHD without a work reason rose from 71,528 in July 2024 to 100,207 in April this year. The increase is even lower for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 he claims, according to government figures reported by The Times this week.

Based on a report by The Times on Tuesday, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said her party would ban people with mental illness from receiving disability treatment, saying that the report had helped her.

But Mindy Ptolomey, a lecturer in disability studies at the University of Leeds, said the focus on young people diagnosed with ADHD and receiving disability treatment was “absurd”.

“I think there’s also an important point that a lot of social security money – the benefits people receive – goes directly back into the economy, so people are buying goods and services. They’re paying for welfare,” Ptolomey told Al Jazeera.

“So this is money that’s continuing in the economy, it’s not being taken out and put elsewhere, it’s spreading through our community,” he said.

Here’s what we know:

Why have 100,000 people signed up to work in the UK because of ADHD?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) released a report on June 16 showing the number of people claiming PIP reached four million in April, an increase of 2 per cent since January 31.

“Of these, 3.3 million (83 percent) were of Working Age and 680,000 (17 percent) were of State Pension Age. 37 percent received the highest award, the same level as of January 2026,” the report said.

The Times reports that of those who claim PIP for ADHD, “nearly four in 10 are receiving higher daily allowances and premiums of £194 ($259) a week”.

It added: “Government figures show that the government has approved up to 40 independent payments per day (PIP) over the past two years where ADHD is identified as the main problem.”

According to the government, people are eligible to sign up for a job and receive the payment if they have a “physical or mental or long-term disability” or “difficulty doing some daily tasks or traveling because of your condition”.

Not all people on PIP sign up for work or are unable to work. This is determined by evaluation within the process. While there are no official figures on how many PIP recipients have lost their jobs, 2.8 million people are “economically unemployed due to health”, including mental health and disability, according to government figures updated last week.

What is ADHD and how easy is it to diagnose in the UK?

ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, according to the UK National Health Service (NHS).

Symptoms of the disease usually begin before the age of 12 and are thought to be less common in women than in men because of the different symptoms.

But getting an ADHD diagnosis in the UK could be a long road, campaigners say.

People with this condition should see their GP who will decide whether to refer them to a specialist for assessment. This may take months or years.

Treatment for ADHD ranges from behavioral interventions to medications.

NHS figures from May show that around 2.4 million people in England have ADHD, including those without a diagnosis. It said that of them, about 741,000 are between the ages of 5-24.

Statistics also show that in March, 32,375 new referrals were accepted for ADHD testing, an increase of 29.5 percent since March 2025.

Although the numbers appear to be high, Ptolomey said the UK may be facing an “underdiagnosis problem”.

“It is unlikely that some young people in the UK will currently be diagnosed with ADHD on the NHS.” In some areas the waiting list is completely closed. In some areas, it’s a ten-year wait to get diagnosed,” he said.

Even then, receiving benefits is not a given, he said.

“It’s also important to say that PIP is not assessed on the basis of things like having an illness; it’s not the only award you’ll receive. It has a screening process that’s not tied to getting immediate benefits if you’re diagnosed with an illness.

What are the benefits of disability?

Disability benefits are cash payments for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions that affect daily life, including their ability to work.

The most common disability benefits are PIP, universal credit, disability payments, and work and income support.

To receive some of these, such as PIP and international claims where a person is assessed as having limited capacity for work and work-related activities, there is no need to be in work.

According to government statistics in March, from 2024 to 2025, 45 percent of young people aged between 16 and 24 who were classified as not in education, employment or training (NEET) were instead classified as having a disability, “an increase of 24 percent since 2013/14”, the government report said.

“In 2024/25, young people with disabilities were three times more likely to be NEET (29.6 per cent) than young people without disabilities (8.7 per cent),” it added.

How much does disability benefits cost?

According to government figures, from 2025 to 2026, the government is expected to spend 77.1 billion pounds ($102.8bn) on benefits for disabled and disabled people and 37.3 billion pounds ($49.7bn) on housing benefits.

Currently, there are no official statistics on how much it costs to provide benefits related to ADHD in particular.

Disability Minister Stephen Timms is expected to release the results of a key review into the disability sector this week.

The review, which was carried out in consultation with disabled people, advocates and supporters, is expected to be released in two parts with the final part to be published in the autumn.

It is expected to find that the system of screening disabled people for benefits is inhumane and prevents people from finding work, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

It added that the analysis is expected to confirm that the policy analysis method, which considers the risk of the situation of travel and daily life, “is not useful due to the number of new conditions – especially related to mental health – which can be very variable”.

Has the government ever tried to reform the system for people with disabilities?

Reforming health benefits is a long-standing battle for the British government to keep spending on other programs.

Under the previous Conservative government, benefits became more difficult after claimants had to undergo regular face-to-face assessments. The plan was later endorsed by the now-ruling Labor Party, which said it wanted to increase face-to-face assessments from 12 per cent to 30 per cent.

In 2024, research carried out by the DWP found that of those surveyed who complained about PIP, 17 per cent said the individual assessment had made them “not able to use it”.

In the same year, the national disability charity Sense found that while the assessment of people with disabilities was not flawed, it found that the whole system was harming the health and lives of people with disabilities.

Since coming to power in 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has tried and failed to meet PIP funding targets by restricting eligibility. These plans would have saved 4.8 billion pounds ($6.4bn), but Starmer was forced to abandon the health reform bill after 49 Labor MPs voted against a second reading in the House of Commons.

The MPs said the law could leave many people in the country in poverty.

Andy Burnham, the Labor MP and frontrunner to take over from Starmer after he announced his resignation on June 22, told The Times last month that he had “no complaints” about the restructuring.

Although he warned of “brutal” cuts in the system, he insisted he wanted more young people to work.

Ptolomey said that while it is clear that the health care system needs to be changed, this should be done with the needs of those with disabilities at the forefront.

“This is not about people who want social protection for all the false reasons that are being said, (such as) being lazy. People with disabilities, young people with disabilities and young people with ADHD really want to help and participate in their community, and PIP should be one of the many ways in our community that help people do that,” he said.