EXCL: Addicts claiming disability benefits are paid lump sums worth thousands of pounds that they immediately spend on alcohol and drugs, experts say Support workers and doctors have told The Times Welfare Inquiry that the DWP often pays addicts large back payments when they are approved for personal independence payments, and that this leads them to relapse Almost 18,000 people are claiming Pip with substance or alcohol abuse as their main disabling condition, meaning it is the most debilitating of potentially a number of health issues Addicts are typically given Pip for an associated mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, experts say. Last year, the government spent an estimated £128m on Pip payments for people it categorised as having “substance misuse problems” Sue Gwyn, chief executive of Brynawel Rehabilitation Centre in Pontyclun, northwest of Cardiff, said it was “not infrequent” that a back payment would cause someone who had otherwise been recovering to “relapse immediately” Another rehabilitation clinic staff member from Lancashire said: “Pip is killing people. When we find out a client has had a back payment, we have to change how we work with them because they could be dead in a week or two. None of it goes on supporting them, none of it on finding a flat. The benefits aren’t being used as they should be.” Day 3 of The Times Welfare Inquiry with @katieotoolee thetimes.com/uk/welfare-inqu…