The number of people receiving the Disability Living Allowance on the Isle of Man has increased by more than one-fifth over the last six years, while the number of pensioners receiving Income Support has dropped by more than one-sixth, according to a new analysis by the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance of data obtained under the Isle of Man Freedom of Information Act from the Isle of Man Treasury. Over the same time period, the number of people receiving Incapacity Benefit (Short-Term) has dropped by almost 30%, in a move explained by the Treasury as correlated with IOM Government employees becoming ineligible to claim the short-term Incapacity Benefit whilst receiving full pay.
While there has been a big rise in the number of people receiving Disability Living Allowance, and a big fall in the number of pensioners receiving Income Support, the aggregate number of people receiving Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, and Income Support (both for pensioners and working age) has remained very steady over the last six years, with an overall increase of just 0.7%, from 8,766 in 2015 to 8,831 people in 2021.
The numbers reported here are all snapshots at 31 March each year from 2015 through to 2021, inclusive, except for the short-term Incapacity Benefit. Because the Treasury has reported that short-term Incapacity Benefit caseload is erratic, the average caseload for the preceding financial year is provided instead.
Income Support
The number of “pensioners” receiving the Income Support payment on 31 March has dropped every year from 1,559 people in 2015 through to 1,289 people in 2021. The overall reduction in the number of “pensioners” receiving the Income Support payment was 2.9% per year, for a total reduction of 17.3% over the six year period.
The number of “working age” people receiving the Income Support payment on 31 March has remained fairly steady, moving from 2,341 people in 2015, through to 2,328 people in 2021. 2017 was the year with the fewest number of “working age” people receiving income support, at 2,102 people.
Disability Living Allowance
The number of people receiving Disability Living Allowance has increased every year, from 2,364 people in 2015, to 2,898 people in 2021. The average increase in the number of Disability Living Allowance recipients was 3.8% per year, for a total increase of 22.6% over the six year period.
Incapacity Benefit
The number of people receiving long-term Incapacity Benefit has fluctuated from 1,634 people in 2015, to 1,705 people in 2021. The overall increase in the number of long-term Incapacity Benefits was 0.7% per year, for a total increase of 4.3% over the six year period.
Because the number of short-term recipients of the Incapacity Benefit can vary substantially, the data provided for each year is an average number for the preceding financial year. The number of people receiving short-term Incapacity Benefit formerly fluctuated around 868 people in 2014-15 financial year, to 739 people in the 2017-18 financial year. However, on 1 April 2018, IOM Government employees became ineligible to claim short-term Incapacity Benefit whilst receiving full pay. Since that time, the average number of recipients each year has been between 507 (2018-19 financial year) and 611 (2020-21 financial year). The average reduction in the number of people receiving short-term Incapacity Benefits was 4.9% per year, for a total reduction of 29.6% over the six year period.
Source Documents
An unidentified Manx resident submitted the initial request on 10 December, 2020. The Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance submitted the follow-up request, to obtain updated data for the end of the 2020-21 financial year.