Claimant deaths? DWP vs Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - have any effect?

gemmaking

For ESA, DLA, PIP claimant applications.


Information Commissioner asked to rule on vulnerable claimant deaths,

Benefits and Work has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to intervene as the DWP continues to ignore requests for further information about secret reports into claimant deaths.

Disability News Service discovered last year that the DWP had carried out secret reviews into the deaths of 49 claimants. The DWP have refused to publish details of those reviews.

In June of this year Benefits and Work made a freedom of information request asking:

a) How many of the 49 claimants whose deaths were peer reviewed were ESA claimants who were, or had recently been, on the work programme.

b) How many of these were deemed to be vulnerable claimants in relation to ‘safeguarding’ procedures.

However, while the DWP admit that they hold this information, they refuse to hand it over on the grounds that:

“The Department considers this to be confidential information about our clients gathered by civil servants in the course of their duties. This being the case Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (SSAA) prohibits the release of such information.”

We don’t for a moment accept the DWP’s grounds for refusal.

We asked for a review of the decision. Initially the DWP told us that they would give us their response by 25 August. When that date passed we contacted them and asked for a response within 7 days.

We received only an automated response.

At the end of 7 days we told the DWP we would now be contacting the ICO.

We received only an automated response.

We have now passed all the correspondence to the ICO.

Given the recent revelation that a coroner has ruled that a claimant’s suicide was triggered by being wrongly found fit for work, the DWP’s refusal to give more information about these deaths becomes increasingly suspicious.

Do you think that the DWP will give more (or any) answers or information to the Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) ?

or they will still hide it from the ICO and public?


Either way do you think it will have an affect on IDS and his policies?

tea-bag

They are ignoring the request because people don't die because of the DWP.

There is NO proof the two are linked.

If somebody commits suicide they work and have money problems, do you blame the employer for not paying more?

If you commit suicide you have more problems than being found fit for work.

rogerblack

tea-bag wrote: »

If you commit suicide you have more problems than being found fit for work.

Well - doh.
Perhaps that you are not remotely fit for work, or for the effort of fighting the appeal, and ending it seems easier.

I speak as someone who recently, following a finding of fitness for work purchased a gas cylinder online.

Fortunately, by the time it arrived, I was in a slightly better mental state, and began preparing an appeal, rather than ending it. The physical effort of preparing the appeal meant that I found maggots living in the kitchen, because I was concentrating all my effort on that.

The DWP has _terrible_ admin, and finds many people well for spurious reasons.

I have real problems talking on the phone, combined with it often being physically difficult to get to the phone.
Hence - when I missed my appointment for a medical, and received a note saying 'you need to send us a reason why' - I posted them the next day a letter explaining my situation.

They will have received the letter well over a week before the deadline.
Despite this actually being in their mail system, they chose to ignore the known delays in the mail system, and my benefit was terminated solely on the basis of missing two phone calls.
(I was extremely wobbly that day, and couldn't get to the phone.).

They had the prior month gone so far as to actually call my doctor and express concern, following a previous missed appointment.

None of this was taken into account at the decision to end my claim.
Only the fact I had missed two phone calls, and missed my medical.

This may have been arguably justified if the letter they send saying 'send reasons' said instead 'We will likely not receive any letter you send by the time we make the decision, and if you miss the phonecalls, we will terminate your benefit.

I note they are legally required to respond to letters.

Of course people committing suicide have other things wrong with them.
I couldn't face the nightmare of continuing to explain my condition and how it effects me, when it is systematically ignored, and I have to do it over and over again with nobody willing to take the time-saving step of actually glancing at prior papers.

When even if I can talk on the phone, I am confused and rambling, because I can't usually do it at a time of my choosing, and get tired after several minutes even at the best of times.

densol_2

tea-bag wrote: »

They are ignoring the request because people don't die because of the DWP.

There is NO proof the two are linked.

If somebody commits suicide they work and have money problems, do you blame the employer for not paying more?

If you commit suicide you have more problems than being found fit for work.

Clearly someone who has never genuinely suffered mental health problems!

cifpower

densol wrote: »

Clearly someone who has never genuinely suffered mental health problems!

I have suffered serious mental health issues. Initially being told I had depression in 2005, being referred to a CPN and a Consultant Psychiatrist and told I had manic depression and was prescribed Olanzapine and Lithium. I was in receipt of Incapacity Benefit and DLA and, after an assessment, was told I would never have to be assessed again. My mental health got so bad I became a hermit and the police were called because my friends became concerned. I was paranoid and hid in the back yard wearing nothing but a pair of shoes and a dressing gown. For me they were very dark days.

I gradually got better and, after 5 years of not working, I decided to 'sign off' IB and started a part time job. The best thing I ever did. Staying at home all day every day was part of the problem. Being told I was too ill to work actually made me scared to even think about working. Since 2010, I have been promoted through the company I started a part time till job with to working in their accounts department at their head office.

If someone found fit to work by the DWP dies, either by suicide or some other misadventure, the two are not related. You can make them so in your head so it fits your own pre conceived narrative of course. To assume that the government is tacitly killing people is ludicrous and anybody who thinks so should be ashamed of themselves.

Tiddlywinks

tea-bag wrote: »

They are ignoring the request because people don't die because of the DWP.

There is NO proof the two are linked.

If somebody commits suicide they work and have money problems, do you blame the employer for not paying more?

If you commit suicide you have more problems than being found fit for work.

densol wrote: »

Clearly someone who has never genuinely suffered mental health problems!

Oh come on - that is a really discriminatory response. How the heck can you even begin to know anything about that poster?

http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/myths-about-suicide

The actions (or inactions) of the DWP will never be the sole reason for suicide.

tomtontom

Should the focus not be on what mental health support these individuals were receiving? If they had been identified as at significant risk (and that is a big if), were steps taken to manage this risk?

To my mind the issue here is not the DWP, but the thousands of people with long term unmanaged mental health conditions.

cifpower

tomtontom wrote: »

Should the focus not be on what mental health support these individuals were receiving? If they had been identified as at significant risk (and that is a big if), were steps taken to manage this risk?

To my mind the issue here is not the DWP, but the thousands of people with long term unmanaged mental health conditions.

Quite often (and I found myself doing this) you feel embarrassed telling anyone how you really feel. Its the whole stiff-upper-lip British thing. People only know how bad you are if you tell them everything. And if you do not ask for help how is anyone to know you need it?

tomtontom

cifpower wrote: »

Quite often (and I found myself doing this) you feel embarrassed telling anyone how you really feel. Its the whole stiff-upper-lip British thing. People only know how bad you are if you tell them everything. And if you do not ask for help how is anyone to know you need it?

Absolutely, hence my emphasis on if they had been identified as a risk

rogerblack

tomtontom wrote: »

Should the focus not be on what mental health support these individuals were receiving? If they had been identified as at significant risk (and that is a big if), were steps taken to manage this risk?

To my mind the issue here is not the DWP, but the thousands of people with long term unmanaged mental health conditions.

I note my comment above - when the DWP - despite knowing I am at times suicidal - took no consideration of that fact when actually making a decision.
This cannot be held to be not the fault of the DWP.
I note that I was subsequently placed into the support group.

The implication is also that treatment is easy to access.

I find transport extremely tiring, even at the best of times.
Being transported to a mental health appointment, at a time when I am likely to be physically unwell is unlikely to be productive, as I will be confused and find any explanations extremely difficult.

There are no services in my area that will come and visit.

Clearly, cases differ. A major problem is they are all crammed into one process.

The assumption that making bad decisions is OK, because everyone with issues will have appropriate support in place is quite ridiculous.

I am _not_ here referring to people properly found fit for work.

densol_2

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Oh come on - that is a really discriminatory response. How the heck can you even begin to know anything about that poster?

http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/myths-about-suicide

The actions (or inactions) of the DWP will never be the sole reason for suicide.

No one - no one can say what causes someone to tip over the edge at the end - not even the " myths" you produce and of course the person who decided to die is dead and the reason is speculation.

But as usual the disability " pull yourselves together !" Brigade come out in force !