“…The growth, as has been said, is particularly striking among younger people claiming on mental health grounds. We have a social security and welfare system that is increasingly being asked to compensate for not just severe disability, which we all agree it should do, but a large and growing number of mental health cond…”
Record by topic
- Mental health290th of 89014.0
- Learning disability & autism375th of 90510.0
- Assisted dying124th of 3926.0
- Medical ethics & regulation168th of 2262.0
- Public health & prevention585th of 7002.0
- Adult social care & reform330th of 3972.0
- Care home closures & provider failure41st of 492.0
- Dementia221st of 2632.0
Also active on assisted dying
What they’ve said
“…Why do we have so many young people, in particular, in this system? Why are we diagnosing them with these mental health conditions that mean they are receiving welfare, PIP and other benefits? Why are we allowing this welfare system to reinforce itself and reinforce a life on benefits for some of these people? I suppor…”
Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · 2026-07-22 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…Something has gone wrong when more than one in five adults in England now live with a common mental health condition such as anxiety and depression, with diagnoses of ADHD and autism also climbing steeply; among young people, it is one in four.”
Mental Health Conditions: Diagnoses · 2026-06-15 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…benefits has risen by more than 50% over the last five years and that four out of five of them are claiming for mental health or neurodiversity conditions. Yet these assessments, I understand, are largely carried out over the phone, when surely people would need to be seen face to face to assess what is wrong with them.”
Health-related Benefits Assessments · 2026-06-08 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…Secondly, I will touch briefly on SEND. The Government recognise that there is a problem, but nobody has the appetite to ask the very honest question: why are there so many more SEND children? If up to one in five children is now deemed to have special needs, surely that is an absurd stretching of the concept of “speci…”
King’s Speech · 2026-05-19 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…She has advanced dementia. She cannot speak, read or write. She does not know who I am. So, I have first-hand, practical experience of fluctuations in capacity and how that can be dramatic, from one day to the next. I come at this from a very practical, family-based perspective as well.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-02-27 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily quoting them directly.
- Women and girls help shape North Yorkshire health and wellbeing planHarrogate Informer
- Hotter summers, hidden harmsCentre for Mental Health
- Free fair to connect jobseekers with support servicesHerald Series