Three case studies highlight what might have gone wrong in the dozens of benefit-related suicides investigated by the DWP
Fri 7 Feb 2020 11.55 EST
Last modified on Fri 7 Feb 2020 16.03 EST
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has investigated at least 69 incidents of benefit-related suicide in recent years. The National Audit Office said in a report it was highly unlikely that this reflected the real number of cases. Only a handful have come to light in the media, sometimes as a result of an inquest, sometimes after the case was publicised by family members.
Whiting, 42, a mother of nine from Stockton with multiple mental health and physical illnesses, took her own life in February 2017 just days after officials stopped her benefits for missing a fit-for-work test.
Whiting – whose DWP file had a red flag to alert staff to her mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts – had been ill with pneumonia and in hospital for a brain cyst when she failed to open a letter from the DWP calling her in for the assessment.
However, she was unable to convince benefits officials that she had missed the appointment through illness, and they withdrew her Employment and Support Allowance for breaching her benefit conditions. This in turn triggered the stopping of her housing benefit and council tax benefit.
The local Citizens Advice wrote to the DWP on her behalf to explain her situation, request another assessment and point out that it had given her a food bank voucher. Officials say they never got the letter. Her body was discovered by her mother six days later.
A review of the case by an independent complaints body last year found the DWP guilty of five serious failings in the way it handled the case, saying it had failed to take into account Whiting’s mental health status when dealing with her case.
A builder from Highgate, north London, O’Sullivan, 60, killed himself just months after a DWP work capability assessment found him fit for work, despite his GP having signed him off because of his fragile mental state.
O’Sullivan – described by his family as tall, dark and handsome, but nervous, shy and socially awkward – had been diagnosed with recurrent depression, agoraphobia and panic disorder, and had mentioned thoughts of suicide on his DWP form.
However his incapacity benefit was taken away and he was given job seeker’s allowance and told to find work. Unable to find employment and prey to feelings of worthlessness, he took his own life in September 2013.
A coroner subsequently ruled: “[O’Sullivan’s] anxiety and depression were long-term problems but the intense anxiety that triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the [DWP] as being fit for work, and his view of the likely consequences of that.”
Barr, of Glenrothes, Fife, was 28 when he took his life by throwing himself from a bridge, just weeks after an assessor found him fit for work after a 35-minute consultation. His disability benefits were stopped as a result. He died with just 36p in his bank account.
Although he told the assessor that he suffered from anxiety and depression, and had suicidal thoughts, he was adjudged to be “not at substantial risk” if he was found fit for work. No attempts were made to check with his GP or psychiatrist.
Two weeks after he died, in August 2013, DWP officials admitted to Barr’s parents that they had made a mistake and paid them £2,700 in compensation for his lost benefits. His father said: “They said David was fit for work but, in fact, he was fit for hospital.”
According to Disability News Service the Scottish procurator fiscal – which investigates sudden deaths – decided against launching an inquiry after it was reassured by the DWP a review of its processes were already underway.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
