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The rise in people receiving treatment in the UK is due to structural flaws in the health system, not to health problems or long waiting times for treatment, a peer review committee has said.

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee called on ministers to take urgent action to stop the annual cost of disability and disability benefits from its current figure of $64.7bn to $100.7bn by 2029-30.

The results contradict the government’s pre-review of the health agency’s promise, while highlighting the strain the rising bill is putting on some of the public sector’s finances.

In a letter to work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, published on Monday, the committee said there was “no convincing evidence” that the rise in benefits was due to poor health or NHS waiting lists.

“Unemployed people have an incentive to get health benefits; and once they receive them, they have no motivation or support to find a job and accept it,” it warned.

Lord George Bridges, chairman of the committee, said: “This is a serious and growing problem. The (government) schedule does not reflect the urgency required.”

He added that when the ministers promised to publish the plans of quality improvement in the year, this may be too late for any money to enter this year’s budget.

The committee’s understanding of the problem is different from the speech Kendall gave when he introduced reforms to support jobseekers in the autumn, billed as the “Pet Britain Working” plan.

He also described the post-pandemic crisis that has made Britain the only country in the G7 to see a reduction in the workforce, with 2.8mn people classified as economically inactive for health-related reasons.

The colleagues said labor market problems have clouded the picture, and it is unclear whether overall unemployment in the labor market was higher than in 2019.

However, there has been an increase of 1.2mn working-age people receiving health benefits since the beginning of 2020, which now totals 3.7mn.

The committee said this showed a strong incentive for people to apply for unemployment benefits rather than being out of work because of the “significant economic disparity” in the benefits offered.

People who find themselves unfit to work or look for work can double their income and escape difficult situations by switching from jobseeker’s pay to disability benefits, the commission said. He then risked losing more money if he returned to a job that didn’t go well, it added.

New claims for disability benefits did not rise enough to explain the increase in the number of recipients. This is mainly due to the fact that a large proportion of claims are accepted and few people leave or abandon the system after review.

The commission said that the investigation of these claims should be stricter, but the government should also give people more support to get back to work, and ensure that they do not lose out on accepting jobs.

It will require changes to unemployment benefits and disability benefits, because of the relationship between the two, Mr. Bridges said, which will reduce the number of ways to find work while increasing sickness benefits.

Some of the committee’s recommendations are similar to those of the former work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, which were not implemented, partly because of legal challenges to the negotiations.

A government spokesman said it was “determined to get Britain back to work”, had already put in place measures to boost jobs and would discuss health and disability reforms in the spring.

“We’ve been clear that the current welfare system needs to be changed, so it’s good for taxpayers and people get the support they need,” he added.