A NEW tool launched by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) estimates that the annual benefits bill for the Newton Abbot constituency is more than £177 million.

The organisation’s new ‘Benefits Bill’ tool puts total welfare spending in the constituency at £177,309,917 for 2025/26, equivalent to £1,867 per resident.

For each benefit, the estimated monthly payment is calculated by multiplying the mean award by the number of claimants.

For Universal Credit, the mean award is multiplied by the number of households instead; the monthly figures are then annualised.

Newton Abbot is ranked 393rd out of 575 constituencies in England and Wales for total benefits spending, according to figures compiled by the TPA using data from Stat-Xplore, a free online tool from the Department for Work and Pensions that lets you explore, customise, and download benefit and welfare statistics.

The Newton Abbot constituency includes Kingsteignton, Teignmouth and Dawlish, and several villages including Bishopsteignton, Kingskerswell and Ipplepen.

The largest element of the bill is Universal Credit, with the TPA putting spending at £90.8 million, or £956 per resident.

It says 7,796 households in the constituency are claiming Universal Credit.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) accounts for a further £46.1 million, equivalent to £485 per resident, with 6,191 claimants.

The number of PIP claimants has increased by 16.1 per cent over two years, according to the figures.

The TPA says 38 per cent of PIP awards in the constituency are for psychiatric conditions.

Other benefits included in the total are Disability Living Allowance, at £14.36 million; Housing Benefit, at £11.54 million; Employment Support Allowance, at £8.58 million; and Carer’s Allowance, at £5.96 million.

The figures also show that one in 17 working-age adults in the constituency has been assessed as having Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA).

Some 3,120 people are also recorded as being eligible for a mota-bility vehicle.

The TPA says the total benefits bill has risen by 15.6 per cent over two years.

Over the same period, it puts the increase in the local median wage at 25.6 per cent, with the median wage now standing at £34,316.

The new Benefits Bill tool is designed to allow people to enter their postcode and see an itemised breakdown of welfare spending in their area.

It compares total spending and spending per resident, as well as showing local benefit claimant figures and changes over time.

The organisation describes the tool as ‘groundbreaking’ and says it is intended to make official welfare statistics easier for taxpayers to understand.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the tool was designed to show ‘what our broken welfare system means in the real world’.

He added: ‘It brings the big numbers that we hear on TV and radio, right down to what it means for you and your town’.

The TPA argues that rising welfare spending is putting pressure on public finances and says it wants politicians to take action to reduce the overall cost of the benefits system.

Founded in 2004 by Matthew Elliott and Andrew Allum, the TaxPayers' Alliance campaigns to ‘reform taxes and public services, cut waste and speak up for British taxpayers’.