PIP claims for autism and ADHD triple among English teens

The number of 16 and 17-year-olds in England receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for autism and ADHD rose from 16,045 in 2019 to 51,148 in 2025, according to analysis by the Nuffield Trust. Over the same period, the proportion of people in that age group receiving the benefit for the two conditions increased from 1.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent. The research found that growth has been fastest in England's most prosperous areas. In the least-deprived fifth of neighbourhoods, the share of 16 and 17-year-olds claiming PIP for autism and ADHD rose from 0.8 per cent in 2019 to 2.5 per cent in 2025. Rates remain higher in more deprived communities, but increased more slowly, moving from 2.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent over the same period. The Nuffield Trust estimated that £296 million was spent on PIP for 16 and 17-year-olds with autism and ADHD in 2025, with around £87 million going to those in the 40 per cent least-deprived neighbourhoods. That figure was almost four times the £22 million spent in 2019 in real terms. Some affluent areas recorded particularly sharp changes.