A few statistics from Dynamic Benefits published by the Centre for Social Justice:

- Today there are 10.4 million working-age people not working in the UK. Of these, 5.9 million are claiming out-of-work benefits.

- Throughout the last ten years, prior to the recession, the number claiming out-of-work benefits has been at around 5.4 million.

- Benefits are the main source of income for three in ten households in the UK

- In 2008/09, £74.4 billion was paid directly to working age adults and children, about 40% of the total social security budget.

- The total cost of and number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance are up 50% since 1997.

- 23 European countries have a lower proportion of children living in workless households than the UK. In countries such as Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, the percentage of children living in workless households hovers at around 6%. In the UK, by contrast, it is over 16%.

Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in Welfare benefits

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