Why the UK spends more on sickness benefits than defence

The UK is spending more on “financially unsustainable” sickness benefits than defence, and “urgent” reform to the welfare system is needed to rein in costs, a group of Lords has said.
In a letter to the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs committee said the current benefits system penalises people looking for work and tackling the spiralling costs of welfare payments should be a “top priority” for the government.
Spending on sickness and disability benefits has grown to almost £65bn after rising by more than 40 per cent in real terms since 2013, with around 3.7m working-age adults receiving support.
This is 20 per cent higher than the defence budget of £53.9bn in 2023-24, with ministers set to spend almost £57bn on the UK’s defence budget this financial year, and rising to just under £60bn in 2025-26, the group told Kendall.
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Produced by: Jessica Frank-Keyes, Joe Lee, Emmanuel Nwosu
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