Where is Britain's REAL benefits capital? Top 20 areas revealed - and they're not where you might think

Forget the stereotypes you see on Benefits Street and Shameless - Britain's REAL capital of benefits is the Isle of Wight.

New data from the Department for Work and Pensions has broken down the amount the state paid out in 2014-15 by parliamentary constituency.

And because the state pension is included as a 'benefit' - at least as far as the government is concerned - the top of the list is a little different to what those who bang on about 'scroungers' might have you believe.

The Isle of Wight came top, with a benefits bill of £449.0m - of which £268.2m was state pension payments.

Brent Central in London was second (£425.4m) with Tottenham third (£387.1m).
But the top 20 also featured seaside resorts like Clacton (£368.9m), Folkestone and Hythe (£342.7m), Eastbourne (£342.3m) and Torbay (£341.0m).

To put that in perspective, the total benefits bill for Birmingham Ladywood - where Benefits Street is set - was £292.3m.

When the state pension is stripped out of the figures, London constituencies dominate the list of places with the highest benefits bill.

After Brent Central (£335.1m) and Tottenham (£312.3m) come Hackney North and Stoke Newington (£298.6m), West Ham (£277.8m) and Hackney South and Shoreditch (£262.5m).

The fact the state pension is routinely included in the government calculation of its benefits bill is not widely understood.

But it makes a huge difference both to the size of the bill - and the rate at which it is growing.

A growing and ageing population means that at current rates, the amount the Treasury pays out for state pensions is likely to double in just two decades.

In 2014-15, in England, the state pension cost the taxpayer £71bn, with all other benefits combined costing £63.6bn.

CONSTITUENCIES WITH THE HIGHEST BENEFITS BILL IN 2014-15 (INCLUDING STATE PENSION)

Constituency / Bill

1. Isle of Wight - £449m
2. Brent Central - £425.4m
3. Tottenham - £387.1m
4. Clacton - £368.9m
5. Knowsley - £365.6m
6. Hackney North and Stoke Newington - £357.7m
7. West Ham - £353.5m
8. Croydon North - £351.3m
9. Holborn and St Pancras - £349.3m
10. Edmonton - £343.8m
11. Folkestone and Hythe - £342.7m
12. Eastbourne - £342.3m
13. Torbay - £341m
14. Hastings and Rye - £339.6m
15. Louth and Horncastle - £337.5m
16. Liverpool, Walton - £337.4m
17. Westminster North - £336.9m
18. Waveney - £330.5m
19. Bootle - £330.4m
20. Bexhill and Battle - £326.4m

CONSTITUENCIES WITH THE HIGHEST BENEFITS BILL IN 2014-15 (EXCLUDING STATE PENSION)

Constituency / Bill

1. Brent Central - £335.1m
2. Tottenham - £312.3m
3. Hackney North and Stoke Newington - £298.6m
4. West Ham - £277.8m
5. Hackney South and Shoreditch - £262.5m
6. Westminster North - £258.6m
7. Holborn and St Pancras - £256m
8. Edmonton - £255.9m
9. East Ham - £254.8m
10. Poplar and Limehouse - £249.2m
11. Croydon North - £248.9m
12. Bethnal Green and Bow - £244.8m
13. Knowsley - £237.3m
14. Camberwell and Peckham - £235.3m
15. Birmingham, Ladywood - £234.7m
16. Liverpool, Walton - £232.4m
17. Blackley and Broughton - £231.4m
18. Manchester Central - £227.7m
19. Islington North - £219.9m
20. Barking - £219.1m