Over the past decade, we’ve seen an alarming rise in the number of people in the UK relying on welfare benefits—particularly among young adults with emotional and behavioural needs. Politicians and headlines call it a “welfare crisis.” But what if this crisis didn’t start in the DWP… what if it began in our schools?
The government has claimed that the increase in disability benefit claims is unsustainable, and that reform is needed. One of the most cited reasons is the growing number of young people needing support for anxiety, autism, and other neurodivergent profiles. But here’s the thing: this trend isn’t mirrored in other similar nations.
So what’s going wrong in the UK?
Let’s go back to 2010. A five-year-old child back then would be 19 or 20 today—the exact age group now dominating the spike in benefit claims. But what else happened in 2010? Austerity. Cuts to schools. Cuts to social care. Cuts to early intervention services. It’s no coincidence.
SEND Crisis, Lifelong Impact
We’ve spent years campaigning for change in the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system. Ask any parent or teacher, and they’ll tell you: the system is buckling. EHCPs take months or years to get. CAMHS is overwhelmed. Mainstream schools are stretched so thin, they can’t support the children who need it most.
So what happens to those children?
Some fall out of education altogether. Some spend their most formative years without the support they need to thrive. And some—despite their resilience and the dedication of their families—arrive at adulthood burnt out, unsupported, and unable to work in traditional environments.
Is it any wonder that benefit claims are rising?
Cutting SEND Will Cost More Later
The government is currently proposing further changes to SEND funding—more hoops, less support, stricter criteria. All in the name of cost-cutting.
But this isn’t just about children. This is about the adults they become. This is about whether we invest in our future now—or pay for our failure later.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: when we deny children early support, we don’t save money. We shift the cost from the education budget to the welfare budget. And in the process, we hurt families, we lose potential, and we create deeper, longer-term struggles that take far more to fix.
Where Do We Go From Here?
At AskEllie, we hear from parents every day who are fighting for their children’s right to an education. We also hear from young people who’ve been failed by the system and are now facing mental health crises, unemployment, and isolation.
We believe that every child deserves support when they need it—not when it’s too late.
The SEND crisis and the welfare crisis are not two separate issues. They are deeply connected. And unless we treat the root causes—starting in the classroom, not the job centre—we’ll continue to see both spiralling.
It’s time to stop blaming parents. Stop blaming young people. And start fixing the broken system.
We need better funding, faster support, and a government that listens to families instead of punishing them.
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