Health secretary Wes Streeting has ordered an independent review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions amid a sharp rise in diagnoses and increased welfare spending.
Mental illness, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have now become the most common reasons for a sickness benefit claim.
Around 4.4 million working-age people claim disability or incapacity benefit, a rise of 1.2 million since 2019.
Some 1.3 million people claim disability benefits primarily for mental health or behavioural conditions.
Streeting had in March said that this sharp rise may be due to “overdiagnosis”.
He now says the issue needs to be looked at through a “strictly clinical lens”.
The review will be led by Professor Peter Fonagy, national clinical adviser on children and young people’s mental health.
It will examine how effective current ways of tackling the problems are, and the findings will be published next summer.
Streeting said the review will test assumptions rigorously and listen closely to those most affected.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, this week vowed to end the “cycle of worklessness” and to stop young people being “written off” to a life on benefits.
