Benefit claims jump in London amid push to get more jobless people back to work - new map

Purple shows biggest yearly jump in benefit claims in London of between 22 per cent and 46 per cent - (Commons Library)

Benefit claims have jumped in north London, according to official figures.

They showed the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits rising by at least a third in a year in Harrow West, Enfield North, Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, Ealing North, as well as in Poplar and Limehouse.

Increases of between 22 per cent, the average in London, and 46 per cent were highlighted in purple on a map in a recent analysis by the House of Commons Library.

There were rises in the year to September of at least 30 per cent in Harrow East, Hendon, Brent West, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, as well as in East Ham, Bethnal Green and Stepney, and Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

London saw the joint biggest yearly rise in jobless benefits claims, up 22 per cent, as in the West Midlands.

Purple shows biggest yearly jump in benefit claims in London of between 22 per cent and 46 per cent (House of Commons)

The smallest increase was in the North East of ten per cent, with 16 per cent in the South East, and the average for England being 19 per cent.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North, on Wednesday visited the North Central London WorkWell service. at Junction Medical Centre in Tufnell Park, which is offering early health interventions to help to keep people in work or get them back into jobs.

“Good work is good for health and good for our economy too,” said Ms Kendall.

“That’s why our Get Britain Working White Paper will join up work, health and skills plans to tackle economic inactivity and boost employment across the country.”

Some three million people are out of work due to ill health, a rise of around 500,000 increase since 2019.

Constituency	Number of claimants September 2024	Annual increase	Annual percentage increase
Bethnal Green and Stepney	7840	1820	30
Brent East	8965	1925	27
Brent West	5660	1300	30
Dagenham and Rainham	5400	1050	24
Ealing Central and Acton	6010	1195	25
Ealing North	6660	1670	33
Ealing Southall	5890	1240	27
East Ham	8115	1915	31
Edmonton and Winchmore Hill	7265	1850	34
Enfield North	6440	1655	35
Hackney North and Stoke Newington	6440	1265	24
Harrow East	3685	875	31
Harrow West	4570	1200	36
Hendon	5575	1310	31
Ilford North	4590	920	25
Ilford South	6930	1505	28
Poplar and Limehouse	7020	1840	36
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner	1905	440	30
Sutton and Cheam	2070	415	25
Tooting	3265	610	23
Uxbridge and South Ruislip	3610	825	30

Far fewer people in Britain returned to work after the Covid pandemic, compared to other European countries.

The bill for sickness and disability benefits is set to spiral by £30 billion in the next five years, according to the Office of Budget Responsibility.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves stuck to Tory plans in the Budget to try to save £3 billion by reforms to the benefits system and getting more people back into work.

A DWP spokesperson: “As more people move to Universal Credit from legacy benefits, we can expect a rise in the number of claimants.

“We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit so people receive the support they need, while our plan to get Britain working will help more people into work and spread opportunity and prosperity to everyone wherever they live.”