‘Economic anaesthetic’ of welfare spending dwarfed capital investment by £1.1 trillion
Spending on benefits for working-age people dwarfed investment in key infrastructure such as schools and trains by £1.1 trillion between 2006 and 2025, new research has found. The Centre for Social Justice said that spending on disability support and other forms of welfare racked up to £1.1 trillion more than capital expenditure in the same [...]
New research reveals that welfare spending for working-age people surpassed investment in key infrastructure like schools and trains by £1.1 trillion from 2006 to 2025, according to a report from the Centre for Social Justice. The study found that benefits spending totaled £1.1 trillion more than capital expenditure during the same period, prompting concerns over the role of welfare in compensating for weak local economies.
Historically, benefits spending made up 2.5% of GDP between 1949 and 1975, but rose to around 5% between 1975 and 2016, while public investment dropped from 2.9% to just 4.6% of GDP. Authors of the report argue that welfare spending has become an "anaesthetic" keeping parts of the country numb during economic failure, and urge a re-evaluation of the UK's welfare state design.
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