Number of people claiming disability benefits for food intolerances soars by 500% in five years

Published: 22:05, 20 April 2026 | Updated: 22:16, 20 April 2026 The number of people claiming disability benefits for food intolerances has soared 500 per cent in five years. Latest figures also show a rise in people suffering with acne, tennis elbow and writer’s cramp who are paid not to work. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed that in 2021 there were 12 people who claimed they could not work because of food intolerances.  By January this year that had risen to 78, who are each paid £114 a week. While the exact food intolerances were not revealed, they can often cause bloating, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. The figures show a 35 per cent rise over the same period in people claiming out-of-work benefits – known as personal independence payments (PIP) – for acne.  There has also been a more than doubling in claims for tennis elbow – from 207 to 425 – and a 40 per cent rise in claims for writer’s cramp, when the muscles contract involuntarily. In other examples, first reported by The Sun, there has been a near doubling of those out of work because of constipation – from 84 to 166.  The number of people claiming disability benefits for food intolerances has soared 500 per cent in five years More than 5,000 people are now claiming PIP for mood disorders and nearly 2,800 for gout. Britain’s benefits budget is coming under increasing scrutiny as experts forecast a total bill in excess of £320 billion by the end of the year. Tory work and pensions spokesman Helen Whately told the Daily Mail: ‘No wonder taxpayers feel they are being taken for fools.  '[These] sickness benefits make a mockery of a system intended to help people struggling with disability. The system is blatantly out of control.’ The DWP said: ‘These claims, which represent a small proportion of PIP, started increasing several years ago. ‘We are bringing in reforms to save nearly £2billion this Parliament.’ One of the largest claims is for inflammatory arthritis, with 71,000 made this year – a rise of almost 6 per cent since 2021. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.