With hoods pulled up to fend off the relentless rain, the dreary weather in Birmingham this week matched the mood of many in England’s second biggest city.
Dubbed Britain’s “capital” for youth unemployment to the “epicentre” of England’s “benefits crisis” – residents are among the hardest hit by a nationwide cost of living crisis at the centre of next week’s Budget.
It is the latter moniker that prompted The i Paper to visit Perry Barr, a constituency in north-west Birmingham about 15 minutes’ drive from the city centre.
Analysis by the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) found the suburb’s spending on welfare now costs nearly £4,000 per resident, one of the highest in the country.
The area also has among the fastest growth in benefits spending, increasing by 37.1 per cent in just over two years.
John O’Connell, TPA chief executive, told The i Paper that Birmingham is “standing as the epicentre of Britain’s benefits crisis”.
‘Benefits crisis epicentre’
As a constituency, Perry Barr spent a combined £499,964,384 on the six main benefits in the year to March, according to the TPA analysis. This includes universal credit, personal independence payments (PIP) and housing benefit.
With a population of 125,283, based on the Office for National Statistics’ most recent estimate, that equates to an annual welfare spend of £3,991 per resident, the TPA found.
The same amount was spent in nearby Birmingham Erdington.
The neighbouring areas now rank among the highest spending constituencies in England and Wales after huge welfare spending rises over recent years.
Perry Barr recorded an increase of 37 per cent, narrowly behind Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (37.1 per cent) in top spot and ahead of Birmingham Yardley (36.9 per cent).
Five of the top 10 constituencies with the largest percentage increase in total benefits payments over the past two years were in Birmingham.
O’Connell added: “When areas like Birmingham see welfare spending growth outstripping wages and topping billions, it shows a system that is fundamentally broken.”
‘People need help’
Matt, a 35-year-old local resident, said the spend was “shocking”, but added there are “people out there that need help”.
Matt, like other residents, did not share his surname.
“You’ve got plenty of people living on the streets, and it’s not nice. I’ve been there and done it, I know how they feel,” he said.
“It’s hard – I’m on universal credit and I’m not employed at the minute. I have tried applying for some jobs, but I’m getting nowhere – no responses whatsoever.”
Nafeesa, a 20-year-old university student, echoed the sentiment that jobs are hard to come by in the area.
“Everyone is struggling to find employment right now,” she said. “All of my friends, those who don’t go to university, they’re not doing anything right now. It is so hard to find jobs here.
“I’m younger so I don’t know about the past as much, but it’s really bad. Nobody can find a job, everyone’s begging for money.”
Ministers are looking at wide-ranging reforms to welfare policies, including giving young people who rely on benefits less money in exchange for intensive health and job support.
Separate research by the TPA recently found that over two thirds of universal credit (UC) claimants in their twenties were not in work across England and Wales.
Of those, Birmingham Perry Barr was the constituency with the highest proportion of unemployed UC claimants aged 20 to 29, at 79.8 per cent.
Nine of Birmingham’s 10 parliamentary constituencies were among the top 20.
‘Where is the money going?’
Nafeesa added: “Our area is a bit run down. There are a lot of HMOs [Houses in Multiple Occupation], different people moving in, so I do understand how benefits are increasing. But to hear the actual number is a bit crazy. It’s way higher than I thought it would be.
“Then you hear benefit spending is rising but you don’t even see it – like, I don’t know where it is, to be honest, where that money is going.”
Other residents, like Matthew, said he knows “so many” people on benefits in the “struggling” area.
The 35-year-old has been out of work for two years, but is “always” on the lookout for employment opportunities.
‘£4k on benefits but can’t get my bin emptied’
Matthew said government needs to “incentivise more people” getting back into work, rather than see them resort to claiming benefits and remaining unemployed.
A woman in her forties, who asked not to be named, agreed “more needs to be done in terms of trying to encourage people [into work]”.
“There’s no work ethic anymore,” she said. “My husband and I are employed, but if you can stay at home and have the same disposable income as us at the end of the month, and have bills paid for you or discounted, why would you go to work?”
“It does wind me up a little bit that £4,000 goes into benefits and I can’t get my bins emptied or can’t get a doctor’s appointment.”
Last year, residents saw heaps of rubbish sit on their pavements for months as refuse workers went on strike over a pay dispute.
Paddy, a 76-year-old pensioner, added: “Everything is going up and up and up – everywhere. But that spending needs to come down.”
O’Connell has urged ministers to “urgently grip this crisis, tighten eligibility, and bring welfare spending under control”.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We are already reforming the welfare system across the country by narrowing the gap between universal credit standard and health rates, restoring face-to-face assessments, and investing £3.5bn in employment support to end the culture of people being signed off and written off.”
They said an increase in PIP caseload has slowed. Reforms from the Timms and Milburn reviews will “put work and opportunity at the heart of the system”.
Birmingham City Council was contacted for comment