Recommendation 3

Trends in health-related benefit spending cannot be properly understood without appreciating the impact of rising ill-health and financial insecurity. The disparity between the standard and higher rates, for example, would not be nearly so great an incentive to claim were those affected not struggling financially. If a disabled person is struggling financially, they are obviously far more likely to claim benefits for which they are eligible but which they might previously not have thought about claiming. The combination of rising ill-health and financial insecurity cannot account for all the increase in caseloads but is certainly a significant contributory factor. (Conclusion, Paragraph 45) 64