More seven-year-olds in Britain are on disability benefits compared to 50-year-olds

Meanwhile, just 66,670 50-year-olds are receiving the same sort of welfare backing from the Government.

The ballooning benefits bill is already bludgeoning the British taxpayer, costing the national economy an eye-watering £333billion a year.

While the figure is expected to rise even higher, Andy Burnham has refused to buckle to calls to cut welfare to funnel more funds into Britain’s Armed Forces.

Parents of disabled youngsters can claim disability living allowance (DLA), many of whom tend to go on to receive Universal Credit after being diagnosed with mental health conditions.

As a result, Helen Whately, the Shadow Works and Pensions Secretary, cautioned Labour of a “pipeline to a lifetime on benefits”.

She said: “Thousands of children are being told they have something wrong with them and that they deserve benefits as compensation.

“It’s damaging for them and unaffordable for the taxpayer.”

Since the Covid pandemic, the number of those in receipt of DLA has more than doubled amid a rise in claims for learning difficulties and ADHD.

Current forecasts see DLA spending soaring past £8billion over the course of the next five years – all at the cost of the public purse.

As it stands, 915,000 children in England and Wales receive DLA.

A Government spokesman said: “The rising proportion of young people on Child DLA is not a new trend.

“Child DLA exists to help with the extra costs of caring for a seriously ill or disabled child.

“But we know there is a rising demand, which is why we have trained additional case managers to deal with these claims to a high standard.

“We have also outlined reforms to special educational needs to ensure every child gets the right support early on, without a fight, and are investing a record £16.1billion in NHS mental health services this year.”

With just a fortnight to go before John Healey’s maiden Budget, the Tories have repeatedly piled pressure onto Mr Burnham for failing to commit to cutting welfare.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned the Chancellor earlier this week that his plan must plug a £35billion hole left in the public finances.

And, earlier this month, Labour constituencies were revealed to have been handed three quarters of a £12billion rise in benefits spending since the General Election.

The same research revealed how Mr Burnham’s party has been hoovering up an outsized share of the country’s ballooning benefits bill.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance found that 72 per cent of the £12.1billion increase in total benefits since the election – or £8.8billion – went to seats represented by Labour MPs.

But Labour MPs only represent 65 per cent of English and Welsh Commons seats.

The organisation’s research also revealed the top 10 constituencies with the highest splurge are all Labour-held.

Diane Abbott’s Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat saw the largest increase in benefits spending at £76.6million, more than three times the constituency average.