The number of new claimants for mental health disability benefits has reached 250 people a day, with payouts soaring for anxiety and depression.

More than 600,000 people are now getting personal independence payments (PIP), with 60,000 young people claiming for anxiety and depression.

The rapid rise in these claims, which has continued to soar since Labour took power in 2024, was the fastest among younger people.

Despite insisting that getting young people into work was an "early priority", Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has ruled out any changes to PIP for the next year.

He said: "The last thing we want to see is people graduating from school onto benefits."

The Labour minister added that the millions of young people not in education, work or training are "one of the things I’m most concerned about".

On Wednesday, Mr McFadden outlined a deal to offer job fairs and health advice at Premier League football grounds and is reportedly considering plans to ban people under 22 from claiming Universal Credit or Incapacity Benefit.

He said that "people have almost had a financial incentive to say that they were unfit for work".

Pat McFadden has ruled out any changes to PIP for the next year

The Government has faced pressure to reform the benefit system after Keir Starmer's previous attempt to cut disability benefits was abandoned due to a stirring backbench revolt.

The Prime Minister, who had been pushing for a £5billion cut to welfare spending by slashing Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit, made an enormous climbdown due to internal party pressure, which he had previously described as "noises off".

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has vowed to change the "frankly farcical" sickness benefits system that he said had created "a terrible poverty trap".

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, has also been supportive of significant cuts.

Nigel Farage has vowed to change the sickness benefits system

She said: "Our welfare system is being exploited by a whole bunch of people, both British and non-British, who should not be claiming benefits."

They argued that Mental Health claims should be cut and the £7billion should be invested into the NHS.

While a Labour Party spokesperson said: "The Conservatives had 14 years to reform welfare. Instead, they left the country with a broken system that holds people back and fails to support the most vulnerable."

PIP pays people between £1,500 and £9,750 annually to compensate for the extra costs of disability, and is available whether or not someone is in work.

The cost has also skyrocketed, doubling in the last 7 years to £28billion

The number of claimants is expected to increase from 3.8 million people currently to over 6 million by the end of the parliament.

The cost has also skyrocketed, doubling in the last 7 years to £28billion, with Mental health conditions now the most common reason to claim.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank found 90,183 new claims for anxiety, depression and mood disorders were awarded in the 12 months after Labour took office, a rate of 247 a day.

Overall numbers for anxiety and depression are up seven per cent, from 44,000 to 633,480.

Overall numbers for anxiety and depression are up seven per cent, from 44,000 to 633,480

Over 17,287 of those are under-25s starting on PIP for these conditions, a rate of 47 a day.

Among under-25s, claims have increased by 12 per cent to nearly 60,000.

Ben Gregg, senior researcher at the CSJ, said: "Abandoning young people to sickness benefits only increases the isolation, feeding their struggles. It is neither kind nor helpful.

"The Government can and should redirect funding to tackling the root causes of mental ill-health."

A Government spokesman said: "We are reforming the broken welfare system by shifting our focus away from welfare and onto work, skills and opportunities — especially for younger people."