The number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (Pip), the main disability benefit in the UK, reached a record high of 4.09 million as of July 31, 2026, according to data from the Department for Work and Pensions. This represents a 7% increase from the previous year, with the total number roughly doubling since January 2019. The rising costs associated with Pip have led to a government-commissioned review aimed at making the benefits system financially sustainable; however, specific recommendations remain pending in the final report of this review.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
As of July 31, 2026, 4.09 million people were entitled to claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP), marking a new record high and a 7% increase from the previous year's 3.83 million claimants. The figures were released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ahead of an anticipated government review on disability benefits. Since January 2019, when comparable data first began, the number of PIP claimants has roughly doubled from 2.05 million. Of these claimants, 3.4 million are of working age while 690,000 are state pension age. The benefit is intended to help cover additional costs for individuals with long-term physical or mental health conditions. In response to the figures, Labour has criticized the current sickness benefits system as broken and costly, while Conservative ministers have initiated a review led by Sir Stephen Timms aimed at assessing the efficiency and cost of PIP operations.
Written for “Disability Benefit Claims Increase” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.25, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 10918: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-15
Pip is the main benefit paid to someone who has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, and is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs.
asserted
who → pay → tasks
The figures come ahead of the publication later this autumn of a Government-commissioned review into the costs and operation of the disability benefits system.
asserted
figures → come → system
A total of 4.09 million people were entitled to claim Pip as of July 31 2026, according to data published on Tuesday by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
uncertain
total → entitle → Work
The number of claimants has roughly doubled since comparable figures began in January 2019, when the total stood at 2.05 million.
asserted
total → double → million
Last year saw ministers abandon plans to reform disability benefits, including for those with mental health conditions, in the face of backbench Labour opposition.
asserted
ministers → see → opposition
Instead of immediate reform, the Timms review was put in place to gather views on Pip and how it works.
asserted
it → put → Pip
Read More
Speaking in July on the publication of the review’s interim report, Sir Stephen said the benefits system, designed in 2013, needs “fundamental change” and that it must be made “financially sustainable”.
asserted
it → read → change
He said people would have to “wait and see” what his team’s final report says when asked whether it might include cuts to the numbers of people claiming the benefit.
uncertain
it → say → benefit
He added the “vital support” provided by Pip to help cover the extra expense of being disabled could be under threat if the costs of the system keep rising.
uncertain
costs → add → system
Spending on Pip stood at £16.3 billion in 2019-20, when adjusted for inflation to today’s prices, and had increased to £27.3 billion by 2024-25, DWP figures show.
asserted
figures → stand → 2024
It is currently forecast to rise to £41.5 billion by 2030-31.
asserted
It → forecast → 2030
The DWP has said the Timms review will ensure Pip is “fit and fair for the future”.
asserted
Pip → say → future
Of the 4.09 million Pip claimants at the end of July, 1.60 million were listed as having psychiatric disorders, or 39% – the highest proportion for any type of disability.
asserted
million → list → disability
Some 268,965 claimants were classed as having autistic spectrum disorders, more than three times the 79,395 in January 2019 when data began, according to Press Association analysis.
uncertain
data → class → analysis
A further 442,666 claimants had mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, up from 171,833 in January 2019, while 106,087 had the hyperkinetic disorders ADHD or ADD, up from 23,741.
asserted
106,087 → have → 23,741
The second most common type of disability among claimants was general musculoskeletal diseases, which applied to 764,305 people in July this year, or 19% of the total.
asserted
which → apply → total
Just over a third (35.8%) of new Pip claims in July were granted, while 61.4% were disallowed and 2.8% were withdrawn.
uncertain
% → grant → July
The grant rate for new claims has been on a downward trend for the past two years, having stood at 41.1% in July 2025 and 46.4% in July 2024.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Andy Burnham believes “we have got to get serious as a country about welfare reform”.
uncertain
we → stand → reform
But “that doesn’t mean crude cuts that simply push people into crisis and create bigger costs elsewhere”.
asserted
that → mean → costs
The spokesman added: “Our work on welfare across the board is about tackling the structural drivers and changing the nature of the support, and that we ultimately deliver a system that sets people up for success rather than pays for failure.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: “Our sickness benefits system is broken and Labour refuse to fix it.
“It’s too quick to write people off and too slow to help them into work – and it’s costing us a fortune.
“The Conservatives are doing a root and branch review of our sickness benefits system.
asserted
Conservatives → add → system
“We will stop claims for low-level mental health, rapidly re-assess hundreds of thousands of claims face-to-face the moment we enter government, and get Britain working again.”
uncertain
Britain → stop → government
The Aporia
