Almost four million working-age adults in England and Wales currently claim incapacity or disability benefits, up from 2.8 million before the Covid pandemic.
Wes Streeting stated that doctors are "overdiagnosing" mental health conditions as Labour seeks to control Britain's rising benefits bill. He believes too many people are being "written off" and not receiving adequate support. The government plans welfare reforms to cut costs, while facing opposition from Labour MPs. Streeting supports earlier mental health support to help people stay in or return to work and improve access to treatment.
