In February 2015, it was estimated that over 5 million people in the United Kingdom depend on benefits to make ends meet.
The poorest people in our society hold just 8.7% of the country’s wealth while the richest 10% hold a jaw-dropping 45%.
With shows like Benefits Britain and Rich House, Poor House highlighting the striking differences in UK households more and more people are beginning to question how their tax money is spent.
This stark divide is only widened more by the stigma and misinformation that surrounds our country’s benefits system.
For instance, last year the government spent an eye-watering £253 billion on welfare alone. Shocking right? But what if I told you that only 1% of that sum went towards unemployment benefits while 45% covered the cost of pensions -would you feel differently?
In reality, most UK towns have an average -or lower than average- number of benefits claimants, however the minority which can claim as much as seven times the amount have thrown the entire system out of balance.
Below are 60 towns in the UK that claim the most benefits. Does your place?
The UK’s Jobless Blackspots…
Recent studies revealed that 3,328,000 people claim one of five working-age benefits i.e. Jobseekers’ Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Seven Disablement Allowance, Income Support etc.
60. Pendle, Lancashire
We begin our list with Pendle, a local government district and borough of Lancashire with a population of 90,111 people according to the 2015 census.
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It is also on the higher end of the benefits claiming spectrum with around 1,300 people in the area relying on the welfare system.
59. Barnsley East, South Yorkshire
Next up we have Barnsley East, a constituency in South Yorkshire with an estimated population of 68,243 people.
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The area is one of the highest numbers of benefits claimants in the Yorkshire area with 1,470 people relying on the system.
58. Stockport, Greater Manchester
Just over an hour away we have our next benefits hot-spot, Stockport, where an estimated 1,750 people claim some form of benefits.
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