This really is a bit of a joke!

The number of welfare claimants claiming mental health conditions is expanding because of the parlous state of NHS mental health services.

When I was a teenager, mental health services within the NHS were, if not absolutely perfect, at least were available and working properly. I know a number of people today who have or have had mental health problems, who were either completely unable to access any sort of mental health care or were offered such inappropriate care that it was useless.

This is not criticism of the people providing the care - generally they are doing their best with hopelessly inadequate resources. However, it is commonly the case that people who could get back to work need a minimum of care to enable them to do that and slashing benefits will only drive them to self-harm or addiction to illegal substances rather than 'helping' them back into work and mainstream society.