Weston-super-Scrounger? Benefits bill hits £249m a year with 1 in 13 working adults not having to seek work

Benefits being paid to people in Weston-super-Mare cost the taxpayer an estimated £249m during the last financial year, according to research by The Taxpayers alliance

An astonishing 1 in 13 working aged adults are assessed as Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) with the overall Universal Cresit bill for the 2025/26 year estimated to have cost taxpayers over £139m with 11,497 households claiming.

LCWRA is a health related category within the Universal Credit system. When a person is in receipt of this benefit it means they do not have to work or apply for jobs and are not required to take any steps to prepare for future employment.

Fit notes are also no longer required and a person will also receive an additional monthly health element payment on top of their standard Universal Credit allowance.

Personal Independent Payments (PIP) is being paid to 8,214 claimants, an increase of 16.7% in just 2 years, costing the tax payer a further £61m in 2025/26.

Housing Benefit amounted to £19m across 2,260 claimants. Disability Living Allowance cost taxpayers £14.5m, with 2,402 claimants across the town and Employment Support Allowance £9.5m, with 1,484 individual claimants.

The Carers Allowance bill totalled £6m, with 1,392 claimants.

The staggering figures were provided by The Taxpayers Alliance just weeks before today’s budget where Chancellor John Healey will set out his vision and direction of travel for Britain’s economy.

Cllr Michael Pryke, Conservative Councillor and Leader of the Opposition on North Somerset Council said:

“As the Chancellor prepares his Budget, we need more than warm words from Labour. We need a credible plan to tackle economic inactivity, support people into employment and ensure that the welfare system is there for those who truly need it.

A strong economy cannot be built on an ever growing benefits bill. It must be built on opportunity, enterprise and getting Britain working again.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“Our Benefits Bill is designed to show what our broken welfare system means in the real world. 

“It brings the big numbers that we hear on TV and radio, right down to what it means for you and your town. Because the fact is that Britain’s benefits boom is everywhere, in almost every neighbourhood, and it’s bankrupting us. 

“We hope the Benefits Bill will push politicians to finally take this problem seriously and do what needs to be done to cut welfare spending, before it’s too late.”