“Sickfluencers” who advise people on how to claim benefits are contributing to a sharp rise in mental health-related payouts, senior Conservatives have warned.
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said social media personalities were coaching users on how to maximise their awards in a system that already “exploits” people with depression or less severe anxiety.
Since 2021, the number of people receiving personal independence payment (PIP) for mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (MADD) has increased by 108 per cent.
Claims associated with the condition now outnumber those linked to ADHD by four to one.
An analysis by the TaxPayers’ Alliance published this year found that MADD-related claims had risen by almost a quarter over the previous two years, while claims linked to autism had climbed by more than a third.
Ms Whately said campaigns promoting better mental health had produced the “unintended consequence” of increasing the number of people claiming benefits, particularly those with anxiety and ADHD.
The shadow minister was previously a supporter of measures designed to address the country’s worsening mental health, saying at the time that the campaign gave her a “moral purpose”.
However, she told The Times that expanding benefit payments had gone too far. She argued that many people with milder conditions would be better helped to remain in work.
Senior Conservatives say “sickfluencers” offering benefit-claim advice are driving up mental health-related payouts (Pictured: a “sickfluencer” displaying a free headphone haul)
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said social media figures were teaching people how to maximise their benefit awards
Ms Whately accused the Government of “shying away” from the challenge of reducing benefit spending while ensuring financial support remains available to those who genuinely need it.
PIP is designed to help cover the additional costs associated with a long-term health condition or disability. Eligibility does not depend on whether a person is able to work.
A diagnosis of anxiety or depression alone is not enough to qualify. Applicants must demonstrate that their condition has a significant impact on their ability to manage everyday activities.
Thousands of people on online forums are also exchanging advice about how to describe symptoms and what to write on claim forms, including encouragement to “lay it on thick”.
Researchers at Policy Exchange found this year that many applicants were using AI tools, including ChatGPT, to generate suggested answers and make their applications sound stronger, even when they lacked medical evidence to support their claims.
The think-tank warned that the health and disability benefits system was increasingly vulnerable to being “distorted” by sickness influencers who attract large online followings by coaching prospective claimants.
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Their content includes “walkthrough guides” explaining how to navigate the process, lists of products and services that people may be able to request, and claims that users could secure “up to £62k in ADHD support”. Some posts have been viewed tens of thousands of times.
The report said people could be persuaded to apply for benefits after encountering such material online, even if they had not previously considered making a claim.
The widespread distribution of the videos and posts could also “normalise” life on benefits and foster a culture of entitlement, it added.
One TikToker explained how she claimed £13,000 through the scheme
Separate research has identified a sharp increase in disability claims linked to ADHD and autism among teenagers living in some of England’s wealthiest communities.
The Nuffield Trust found that the growth in PIP claims among 16- and 17-year-olds with those conditions was 28 per cent faster in England’s least deprived areas than in its most deprived communities.
Nine of the ten constituencies recording the highest number of autism-related claims were in the South East, breaking with the traditional pattern of higher disability benefit claims in poorer areas.
Experts said the unexpected pattern could partly reflect wealthier families’ greater access to diagnosis, as well as more support when navigating the benefits system.
A review commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting found that private providers were routinely misdiagnosing ADHD in children. It also raised concerns that “institutional incentives” within the education and welfare systems might encourage families to seek a diagnosis.
At the same time, a record one in seven people in England was prescribed antidepressants last year.
More than nine million patients received the medicines, representing an increase of almost 15 per cent in five years, according to the NHS Business Services Authority.
The share of adults reporting significant symptoms of depression also remains almost twice as high as it was before the Covid pandemic. It rose from 9.7 per cent in 2019 to 18 per cent in April 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figure is higher among younger adults: 26 per cent of 16- to 29-year-olds were affected, equivalent to more than one in four.
Some 2.8 million working-age people in Britain are now out of work because of long-term sickness, including depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. That compares with just over two million before the pandemic.
The Conservatives have published plans to reduce the welfare bill by £36 billion. Of that total, an estimated £13.7 billion would come from tighter eligibility rules for disability and sickness benefits.
Under the proposals, people with lower-level mental health conditions would no longer qualify for PIP, while existing recipients would face stricter rules.