Disability Living Allowance: Mental Illness

(asked on 10th October 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of spending on Disability Living Allowance on children with (a) neurodevelopmental and (b) mental health disorders in each of the last 3 years for which data is available.


Answered by
Stephen Timms Portrait
Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 20th October 2025

The information is in the table:

Financial Year

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

Neurodevelopmental Expenditure (£ millions)

1,770

2,210

2,660

Mental Health Expenditure (£millions)

560

850

1,230

Points to note:

  • Figures are for England and Wales only.
  • Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 million pounds.
  • Figures are from March – February for each Financial Year. For example, Financial Year 2022/23 includes March 2022 – February 2023.
  • Mental health disorders include the following medical conditions:

o Personality disorder

o PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)

o Stress reaction disorders

o GAD (generalised anxiety disorder)

o Phobia specific

o Phobia social

o Agoraphobia

o Panic disorder

o Anxiety disorders

o OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)

o Anxiety and depression

o Conversion disorder

o BDD (Body Dysmorphia Disorder)

o Dissociative disorders

o Depressive disorder

o Bipolar

o Mood disorders

o Schizophrenia

o Schizoaffective disorder

o Psychotic disorders

o Anorexia nervosa

o Bulimia nervosa

o Eating disorder not specified

o Munchausen syndrome

o Factitious disorder

o Psychiatric disorders of childhood

  • Neurodevelopmental disorders include the following medical conditions:

o Learning Disability

o Speech and Language Disorders

o Autism

o Asperger’s Syndrome

o Dyspraxia

o Hyperkinetic disorder

o ADHD/ADD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

  • The table refers to primary conditions only.
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