Call for law change to protect vulnerable benefits claimants

REPORT SAYS DWP INVESTIGATED 274 DEATHS - AND MANY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED

- By JOE LOCKER Local democracy reporter

MPS are calling for a change in the law after a report concluded the deaths and harm of hundreds of vulnerable benefit claimants - including Nottingham woman Philippa Day - could have been prevented by the DWP.

Ms Day, 27, died from a brain injury in 2019 after a deliberate overdose of insulin.

A coroner later said 28 errors were made in managing her benefits case by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Capita, which carries out some benefits assessments. The added stress caused by the errors “significantly increased her risk of self-harm and suicide”, a report by the Nottingham City Safeguarding Adults Board (NCSAB) said in 2023.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in December 2023, Philippa’s sister Imogen said: “I believe that the DWP should be rebuilt using co-production methods with claimants, disability organisations and those that have been let down by the system.”

A new report, published yesterday by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, has now revealed the deaths of at least 274 people have been investigated internally by the DWP. These internal investigations are done when there is an allegation a case has been mishandled by the government department.