New figures have revealed the most common conditions used to claim Personal Independent Payments (PIP).

PIP is a government benefit designed to help with living costs for those with long term physical or mental health conditions or disabilities. Individuals are eligible for PIP even if they are in work, have savings or receive other benefits.

Payments are split into a daily living element to help with everyday tasks and a mobility allowance for those needing help to get around. Under plans announced this week, Keir Starmer’s government would introduce stricter testing for PIP, making it harder to qualify for the daily living component.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall also announced proposals to halve incapacity benefits for new claimants, reduce incapacity benefits for the under 22s and give more incentives to work.

Figures from Kendall’s department showed 3.5 million people claimed PIP in 2024, a 400,000 increase from the previous year.

But what are the most common conditions used to claim PIP? Take a look at our list below.

1. Arthritis

According to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), nearly half a million people were claiming PIP for osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis at the end of October 2024. The 463,300 people in this category has increased by over a third in the last five years.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, causing pain and stiffness when the cartilage between joints wears away over time. It typically affects older people and affects load-bearing joints such as the hips and knees.

Inflammatory arthritis occurs when an overactive immune system attacks multiple joints across the body, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. This condition, of which the most common form is rheumatoid arthritis, can start much earlier in life than osteoarthritis.

2. Mixed anxiety and depression

Just behind arthritis, affecting 454,000 PIP claimants, were anxiety and depression disorders. In this category, the number of claimants has more than doubled over the last five years, with 223,000 people claiming for the disorders in October 2019.

A large majority (369,000) of these claimants were recorded as having “mixed anxiety and depressive disorders”, while most of the remaining claimants were classified as having specific conditions such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), agoraphobia or panic disorder.

3. Back pain

Claimants citing back pain were up 40% since October 2019, with 253,000 people receiving PIP for the condition. For the majority of claimants in this category, the reason for their back pain was not specified, though the most common condition among those that had a specific disorder was lumbar disc lesion. Some 35,700 claimants had this issue, when there is a problem with a disc in the spine.

4. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

ASD is a developmental disability that can affect how people interact with others, communicate learn and behave. It is another condition which has seen a spike in PIP claims over the last five years, more than doubling from 93,000 to 213,000 people since October 2019.

5. Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain syndromes

Chronic pain inducing syndromes made up 174,000 PIP claims last year, a large increase from the 105,000 claimants in 2019. The vast majority of these claims, 158,000, were for fibromyalgia, a chronic conditions that caused widespread tenderness and pain in the body.

6. Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities

In October 2024, there were 22,000 claims for PIP as a result of Down’s syndrome, part of the 172,000 claims for learning disabilities. Down’s syndrome is a genetic condition caused by having an extra chromosome and can cause developmental delays as well as certain physical traits. Most of PIP claimants in this category did not specify their learning disability.

7. Bipolar disorder and depression

Mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, were the main disability for 144,300 individuals claiming PIP in October 2024, a 65% increase from 2019. Bipolar affective disorder, a mental health condition causing extreme mood changes, affected 55,000 of these claimants. A further 83,000 were recorded as suffering from depressive disorder, often used to describe more severe forms of depression.

8. Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

The number of people claiming psychotic disorders as their main disability on PIP claims has increased by a quarter in the five years to October 2024, rising from 102,500 to 128,600. The majority of these claimants are listed as suffering from schizophrenia – a mental health condition which can cause hallucinations, delusions and disorganised thinking. In total, 83,000 were claiming PIP for this condition.

A minority – 14,200 in total – were claiming PIP for schizo-affective disorder, which is when the sufferer experiences symptoms of both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

9. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema

Around 91,100 people were claiming PIP in October 2024 for conditions affecting the lungs. Chronic bronchitis is a long-term condition that causes a persistent cough because of inflammation in the breathing tubes, while emphysema is a condition where damaged air sacs in the lungs cause difficulty breathing. Smoking and air pollution are common causes of both conditions.

10. Stroke and other cerebrovascular disease

Cerebrovascular diseases are illnesses which affect blood flow to the brain, with 84,000 individuals claiming PIP for a condition in this category in October 2024. Of these, 77,400 were claiming PIP because of a stroke, which usually occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked and can cause long-term impairment to speech and mobility.

Around 2,600 claimants also cited transient ischaemic attacks, also known as mini-strokes, which can be less severe than a stroke.

11. ADHD/ADD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that causes people to exhibit difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour.

The condition can sometimes be referred to as attention deficit disorder (ADD), but this term is no longer commonly used. Around 75,700 people were claiming PIP with ADHD in October 2024, almost triple the number claiming for the condition five years earlier when 26,700 people were doing the same.

12. Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition where sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain cause seizures or fits. The number of people claiming PIP for epilepsy has more than doubled over the last five years, with 59,800 claimants in October 2024 compared to 25,600 in 2019.

13. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a mental condition that can develop after experiencing very stressful, frightening or distressing events. Sufferers often experience extreme nightmares and flashbacks, as well as related mental health symptoms.

The number of people claiming PIP for PTSD has more than doubled between October 2019 and 2024, up from 25,300 to 58,800.

14. Chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is a long-term condition that can cause extreme tiredness, sleep problems and brain fog. The number of people claiming PIP for this condition has almost doubled in the last five years, from 29,300 in October 2019 to 57,300 in October 2024.

15. Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune condition that causes the body to attack the protective covering of nerve fibres, causing a range of neurological symptoms. Around 56,800 people were claiming PIP for MS in October 2024.

16. Personality disorder

Around 55,500 people were claiming PIP in October 2024 with “personality disorder” listed as their main disability, but no subcategories were specified in the DWP statistics.

Conditions which could fall under this category include borderline personality disorder – a condition that causes emotional instability, disturbed thinking patterns, impulsive behaviour and unstable relationships with others.

17. Injuries/fracture/dislocation

Fractures, dislocations and unspecified injuries accounted for 49,800 PIP claims in October 2024, a 68 per cent increase from the same period in October 2019. The majority of claimants in this category had suffered an injury to the spine, accounting for 17,900 individuals. This was followed by lower limb injuries (14,700), multiple injuries (8,800), upper limb injuries (5,800), and pelvis injuries (1,800).

18. Diabetes

In October 2024, roughly 40,700 people claimed PIP for diabetes, over double the number from five years earlier, when 17,300 people were in this category. There are two types of diabetes: type 1, in which the body attacks the pancreatic cells, preventing the production of insulin, and type 2, in which the body cannot make or properly absorb enough insulin.

Around 14,800 people were claiming PIP for type 2 diabetes and 12,700 for type 1, while around 13,200 had an unspecified form of diabetes.

19. Cerebral palsy

A lifelong condition, cerebral palsy can cause poor co-ordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. It is caused by damage to the developing brain, most often before birth, and was the main disability for 40,000 PIP claimants in October 2024.

20. Dyslexia and dyspraxia

Around 36,400 people were claiming PIP for a learning disorder in October 2024, an increase of almost a third from the same period five years earlier. This category includes those suffering from dyslexia – a learning difficulty that affects reading, writing, and spelling – and dyspraxia – which affects physical co-ordination.

Outside these categories, 24,800 were recorded as having an unspecified learning disorder, while 3,700 were claiming for a non-specific speech or language disorder.