Overview

• For the year to March 2024, 35.8 million people lived in households receiving more in benefits and services than they paid in tax, equal to 53.3% of the population.
• The ONS calculation compares taxes paid with the value of cash benefits plus public services such as NHS care and education received by households.
• The share has trended higher for decades, rising from about 40% in the 1980s to around 50% by 2009 and peaking near 55% during Covid before easing slightly.
• Ministers face a reported £20–30 billion fiscal gap ahead of the November Budget, with earlier welfare reform efforts said to have been blocked by Labour backbenchers.
• Rising health-related claims are a key driver, with the Centre for Social Justice citing roughly 650,000 PIP awards for anxiety and mood disorders in July and the BCC estimating about 7% of the workforce is long-term sick, while groups like the TaxPayers' Alliance call for tax cuts.