One million more signed off work indefinitely since Labour took power

Number claiming Universal Credit has increased substantially during Starmer’s first year in office

Labour has parked over a million working-age Britons onto jobless benefits that do not require them to look for work, official figures show.

The surge since Sir Keir Starmer took office means 3.7 million Britons – or almost half of those currently claiming Britain’s main unemployment benefit – are now exempt from finding a job.

The increase in the number of people claiming Universal Credit (UC) with “no work requirements” is up from 2.67 million in July 2024, following Labour’s landslide victory.

By contrast, the figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the number of people who have to look for a job as a condition of receiving their benefits fell from 1.65 million to 1.6 million over the same period.

While a Labour spokesman blamed the increase on Tory failure and a DWP decision to accelerate a move away from legacy benefits, the data will be a blow to Rachel Reeves, who was forced to shelve key parts of her welfare reform following a backbench rebellion.

The figures revealed a worrying rise among older and prime-age workers, with over-55s seeing the biggest jump in being signed off without having to look for work. Many are now being switched from one legacy benefit to another with no prospect of being reassessed.

Economists suggested the surge in older claimants was partly linked to the rising state pension age in a sign that many are giving up work and relying on benefits in the years before retirement.

The data showed the number of 55 to 59-year-olds claiming benefits with no work requirements climbed by 64pc to 426,000 in the year to July, while the number of claims from people aged between 45 and 49 jumped by 58pc to 404,000. By contrast, the number of 20 to 24-year-olds claiming UC with no work requirements rose 9pc to 246,000 over the same period.

Louise Murphy, at the Resolution Foundation, said: “We have over the past decade or so been increasing the state pension age, so you now have a chunk of people in their mid-60s who 10 or 15 years ago wouldn’t have been eligible for working age benefits but who now qualify for Universal Credit (UC).

“They are much more likely than younger people to be out of work due to ill-health. That is adding upwards pressure to UC caseloads.”

The number of people claiming sickness and disability benefits continues to rise, with many people who do not have to look for a job also receiving enhanced sickness benefits worth up to an extra £5,000 a year that taxpayers now face bankrolling indefinitely.

Reforms to the benefits system that would have tackled a lockdown-related surge in benefit payments linked to mental health were shelved following a backlash from Left-wing Labour MPs.

The data show more than two million people who do not have to look for work have been claiming Universal Credit or its predecessor Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for at least five years, with many starting during lockdown. Many people are being moved from ESA onto universal credit in order to streamline the system, but it also means that millions of people risk spending the rest of their lives on benefits.

The data also showed that women aged between 55 and 65 are more likely to be signed off work indefinitely than men in the same age bracket.

The state pension age for women increased from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2018 to bring it in line with men. It was raised again to 66 between 2018 and 2020, and will rise again to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

It is currently scheduled to increase to 68 in the 2040s, but a new review is considering a more rapid increase to ease the burden on the overstretched public finances.

However, the value of such moves risks being undermined if more people claim benefits instead of working into their later years.

A government source insisted that Labour was determined to press ahead with its reforms that will see new claimants receive a lower level of Universal Credit if they do not need to look for work for health reasons.

They said: “Our UC bill is ending a failed system that discouraged people from looking for work - and is backed by £3.8bn investment in supporting people into good, well-paid jobs.”

Tom Waters, at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said a fall in checks carried out by the Government on benefits claimants had also contributed to a rise.

“They had basically stopped reassessments after the pandemic, so that would have slowed the outflow,” said Mr Waters, noting that the Government is now restarting reassessments.

Claimants with no work requirements are not required to attend interviews or training because they have been assessed as being too ill for work, have recently had a baby, are caring for others or are terminally ill.

Labour pledged to speed up moving hundreds of thousands of welfare claimants onto UC when it took power. DWP sources said hundreds of thousands had moved over to UC over the last year, even as official figures showed the number of people claiming ESA fell by just 150,000 in the year to February 2025.

The Government plans to move all legacy benefit claimants to UC by early 2026.

A DWP spokesman said it was “to be expected” that the number of people claiming Universal Credit with no requirement to work would increase as they are moved from legacy benefits to the new system.

Labour wanted to freeze incapacity benefit payments from 2026 but was forced to partially row back on this following pressure from backbenchers.

Instead, only new claimants face a cut to the health element of universal credit.

Joe Shalam, at the Centre for Social Justice, a think tank, said cutting sickness benefits for new claimants was “the right approach in trying to tackle the perverse incentives in the benefit system”.

However, he added: “With the problem getting worse, further welfare reform can’t be put in the ‘too difficult’ box, for the sake of the future of our economy and the lives of every young person at risk of being written off forever.”

CSJ analysis last month showed that jobless claimants on UC health, housing and personal independent payment receive £2,500 more than a national living wage job after tax.