Benefits health assessment system ‘contributed to death of claimants’ – report finds
Issues or errors surrounding the system of health assessments for benefits has contributed to the deaths of some claimants, MPs have heard.
The Work and Pensions committee said they are “deeply concerned” people are still experiencing psychological distress because of the process – despite an inquiry five years ago highlighting “significant problems”.
In a new report published on Friday, the committee said: “In some cases, issues or errors in the system are associated with or have been found at Coroner’s Inquest to have contributed to the deaths of claimants.”
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It recommended the government review the impact of its assessment process and implement safeguarding and suicide prevention training for staff.
Commenting, the SNP’s Social Justice spokesperson, David Linden MP, said: “Five years ago, the Tories were warned by this very committee that the DWP’s health assessment system required urgent change. They didn’t act, and now some claimants have paid the ultimate price.
“This is a scandalous revelation which lies squarely with the Tories.”
In 2020, the National Audit Office found that at least 69 suicides could have been linked to problems with benefit claims over the last six years.
But it said the true number could be “far higher” as the DWP had failed to actively seek information from coroners or families, or investigate all of the cases that have been reported to it.
The committee report did not have an updated figure on deaths but heard from experts who noted a “very strong association between those places where more people had been through the (health assessment) process, and a rise in mental health problems and suicides”.
Professor Ben Barr, from the University of Liverpool, was asked about research he carried out in 2015 which looked at the impacts of the increase in Work Capability Assessment (WCA) as claimants were reassessed to move onto Employment Seekers Allowance.
He said across England the process had led to an additional 600 suicides, 300,000 additional cases of mental health problems and a large rise in the prescribing of antidepressants over a nine-year period.
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“We looked at whether it could be explained by other factors or other economic trends, but there was quite a unique pattern in the increase in mental health problems, and the most likely explanation was that it was due to the reassessment process”, he told the committee.
He said it is difficult to assess improvements since this study as “there are no systems in place” to monitor the impact of the health assessments and potential adverse outcomes.
But MPs on the committee pointed to a survey from the University of Kent last year which found half of claimants who have been through the WCA process said it made their mental health worse.
Dr Ben Baumberg Geiger, who led the research, said at the time: “It is not sufficient to say that this is a historical problem and that everything is fine now. If there were more transparency, it would be easier to know a bit more about it, but the evidence suggests that there are still major problems with the WCA that could lead to an increased risk of poor mental health.”
The committee urged the government to improve its data on deaths and serious harm related to health assessments as part of a series of measures to improve the system.
WCA’s are in place to help those with disability or ill-health access benefits, but accounts of poor accessibility, factual inaccuracy, delays, and communication problems “speaks to a system that is still not adequately supporting often vulnerable people,” the report found.
MPs surveyed more than 8,000 people as part of the inquiry and discovered “a profound lack of trust in the system as a consistent theme”, according to the committee chair and Labour MP Sir Stephen Timms.
It comes ahead of a shake-up of the entire system, with the government planning to scrap WCA’s to get more disabled people into work by focusing on what they can do – and not what they can’t.
This means there will only be one assessment in the future, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, however the WCA will remain in place until at least 2026.
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Sir Stephen said many “will welcome the changes” but added: “Waiting years for changes won’t cut it when quicker wins are available: flexibility of choice on assessment by phone or face-to-face; recording assessments by default; extending deadlines to reduce stress; and sending claimants their reports.
“All this will give much-needed transparency to a process that so few trust yet affects their lives so fundamentally.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “This government is committed to ensuring people can access financial support in a timely and supportive manner and therefore reducing processing times and further improving the claimant experience are key priorities for the DWP.
“The proposals set out in our recent Health and Disability White Paper will make it easier for people to access the right support and improve trust and transparency in our decisions and processes.”
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a commission established by the United Nations.
The report claims “it is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza” and says Israel’s actions meet the criteria set down for defining a genocide.
It is the first time that such an explosive allegation has been made publicly by a UN body, and is likely to be greeted with fury by the Israeli government.
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Israel‘s Foreign Ministry said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the commission to be abolished.
“Three individuals serving as Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly antisemitic positions – and whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide – released today another fake ‘report’ about Gaza,” it said in a statement.
“The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others. These fabrications have already been thoroughly debunked.”
The accusation of genocide is made by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion. Pic: Reuters
The commission, which has been studying the conduct of Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, has concluded that Israel has committed four of the five acts laid out in the Genocide Convention.
It alleges Israel has been killing Palestinians or forcing them to live in inhumane conditions that led to death; causing serious bodily or mental harm, including through torture, displacement and sexual crime; deliberately imposing inhumane conditions, and fourthly, imposing measures intending to prevent births.
This final claim is linked to an attack on the Al-Basma IVF clinic, which the commission claims destroyed around 4,000 embryos and a further 1,000 sperm samples.
The report claims Israel has “flagrantly” ignored “numerous warnings” over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and has set out to “destroy the healthcare system in Gaza”.
It also alleges that Israeli military personnel have carried out sexual and gender-based violence, including “rape and sexualised torture”, as part of “a pattern of collective punishment”, and accuses Israeli forces of deliberately targeting some children “with the intention to kill them”.
Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Pic: AP
Although other UN bodies and personnel have previously linked Israel’s actions with allegations of genocide, this is the first time that any UN body has claimed to have made a definitive judgment.
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with the Israeli authorities at the highest echelons,” said Navi Pillay, the chair of the commission.
Within the report, it concludes that “Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide”.
Nearly 65,000 people are now believed to have died, according to figures collated by Gaza’s health ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
The commission claims that a majority of these are women, children and elderly people.
The commission says it is now looking at further evidence against other individuals accused of inciting genocide.
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Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against both Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant for allegedly committing the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and also for war crimes during the Gaza conflict.
Mr Netanyahu described the warrants as “antisemitic”, while a sense of outrage echoed across much of the political spectrum in Israel.
Then US President Joe Biden called the warrants “outrageous”; his successor, Donald Trump, issued an executive order to introduce sanctions against personnel from the ICC, while inviting Netanyahu to the White House.
It is hard to believe that either Israel or the US will be any more accepting of this report. Israel has long claimed that the UN is biased against it and is more liable to criticise Israel than any other nation.
Marco Rubio speaks to media as he leaves Tel Aviv for Qatar. Pic: Reuters
The US, which offered a rare, if mild, rebuke to Mr Netanyahu after he launched an attack on Hamas officials in Qatar last week, has since sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Jerusalem as a sign of solidarity.
The commission has asked for nations to stop supplying Israel with weapons and says states have a “legal obligation” to do everything within their power “to stop the genocide in Gaza”.
It also calls on Israel to immediately allow “unhindered” access for internationally recognised aid agencies, including the UN.
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Does the UK think there’s a genocide in Gaza?
It wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), set up earlier this year by Israel with American help, in order to distribute aid, to be shut down.
Hundreds of people have been killed around GHF sites, while a separate UN-backed body has said that parts of Gaza have been designated as suffering from famine.
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Israel denies this – a senior military leader told me that “it is a pure, total lie – there is enough food for everyone”. It claims that the UN relied on faulty data and Hamas propaganda.
This latest UN report is likely to be met with similar claims.
Earlier this month, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating that Israel’s conduct passed the threshold of committing genocide.
However, a report from the British government said it had “not concluded” that Israel intended to “destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a “clear position” from Donald Trump to stop Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ lead world presenter Yalda Hakim, the Ukrainian president said the only way for the fighting to stop was for defined security guarantees to first be put in place.
And that, he said, could only come if Mr Trump was bold.
He told Sky News he hopes UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would drill into the detail of securing Ukraine’s future with the president during his state visit to Britain this week.
He said: “I very much hope he (Starmer) will be able to have a very specific discussion on the security guarantees of the US for Ukraine.
“Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want to… have a document that is supported by the US and all European partners. This is very important.
“To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump.”
Zelenskyy and Trump have endured a sometimes testy relationship. Pic: Reuters
‘Make Putin afraid’
Mr Zelenskyy also urged the US leader to take “strong personal steps” to “stop Putin”, after Mr Trump urged NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil and put tariffs on China to pressure Moscow.
“I believe that the US is strong enough to take decisions of their own,” he said. “I believe Donald Trump can give us air defence systems in quantity and US has enough.
“I’m sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him.
“Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. And all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”
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His comments came following criticism in his interview with Sky News – at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv – of the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
He said Mr Trump “gave a lot to Putin” and that “he should have paid more” for it.
“I believe, if it was a trilateral meeting [with Ukraine included], we would have some result,” he added.
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As news broke that British fighter jets were flying air defence missions over Poland after a Russian drone incursion, Hakim asked the Ukrainian leader what message he thought Putin was sending to Europeans.
“He’s testing NATO,” he said. “He wants to see what NATO is ready for, what they’re capable of, both diplomatically and politically, and how the local population will respond to this.”
“Also, in my opinion, the other message they are sending is, ‘don’t you dare to give Ukraine additional air defence systems, because you might need them yourself.'”
Bristling with frustration – Zelenskyy’s message is clear
Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Trump – you alone have the power to stop Putin, and the time to act is now.
Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.
Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.
Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.
But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president.
Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy and tariffing other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s sole superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.
Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases – and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.
Mr Trump arrives in the UK today for an unprecedented second state visit, following an invitation from King Charles.
He and First Lady Melania will stay at Windsor Castle and be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows as well as UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn, and a special Beating Retreat military ceremony.
They will also visit Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire, though details of what they will discuss – and whether it will include the situation in Ukraine – have not been revealed.
Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Donald Trump – you alone have the power to stop Vladimir Putin, and the time to act is now.
Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Volodymyr Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.
Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.
“He should have received a setback in this war and stop. Instead, he received de-isolation,” he said.
“He definitely wants to trick the US. He is doing everything he can to avoid sanctions, to prevent the US and Trump from putting sanctions on him.”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month. Pic: Reuters
Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.
But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president: “He understands force. That’s his language. That’s the language he understands. He doesn’t speak many languages, but that’s the language of force he understands – just like Russian, you know, his mother tongue.”
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Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy, and by putting tariffs on other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.
Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases, and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.
“I think the US is strong enough on its own,” Zelenskyy said.
“They can make this happen quicker and all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”
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