Northern Ireland

More than third of DLA claims based on mental health

Almost 75,000 people in Northern Ireland receive DLA for mental health-related issues
Almost 75,000 people in Northern Ireland receive DLA for mental health-related issues Almost 75,000 people in Northern Ireland receive DLA for mental health-related issues

MORE than a third of DLA claimants receive the benefit on the basis of mental health issues.

The Irish News revealed last month that Northern Ireland’s annual Disability Living Allowance bill has topped £1 billion for the first time.

Of the 213,000 claimants this year, figures obtained by The Irish News through a Freedom of Information request show that 138,500 required the payment for a physical ailment, and 75,000 due to some sort of mental illness.

However, the number of people claiming for mental-health related benefits has increased at a much faster rate than those claiming for physical problems.

Since 2012, physical health claimants have grown by 7 per cent while the number of mental health-related claims is up 20 per cent.

Alliance Party health spokeswoman Paula Bradshaw said she has raised the issue of how GPs deal with mental health problems with the Royal College of General Practitioners.

"I wanted to know how GPs are keeping under review their patients who have been prescribed anti-depressants over a long period of time, and more importantly, how they are supporting their patients in terms of therapy and counselling," the South Belfast MLA said.

"I believe that too many people living with mental health issues are not receiving appropriate care pathways; pathways that would provide different types of interventions - both medical and practical - to allow them to get past the worst of the condition and lessen its impact on their ability to work and assimilate into wider society."

The benefits system in Northern Ireland is currently undergoing a controversial process of reform.

As of June 20, the Disability Living Allowance is being phased out to make way for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Claimants will be reassessed to calculate the level of assistance, and therefore benefit amount, that they require.

Entitlement will be based on the effect a long-term health condition or disability has on a claimant’s day-to-day life.

Claimants will have to undergo more rigorous checks and assessments before being granted PIP.