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.”
Politics live: ‘Significant blow’ if nurses reject pay offer – result of ballot expected today
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chancellor announces changes to welfare system
“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.
Read More:
Call for more help to get millions of long-term sick back into employment
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.”
Consumers could be allowed to attend water company board meetings under new rules proposed by the regulator.
Companies may survey and research customers to understand their views, involve them in decision-making and seek feedback on consumers’ experience.
Under the suggested reforms by regulator Ofwat, customer voices could be heard by making changes to a company’s governing body, the board of directors.
Money latest: Michelin-guide restaurant launches water menu
The obligation to hear billpayers’ views could be met by boards allocating time for consumer matters, arranging for consumer experts to attend, holding open board meetings for the public, or by having an independent director with a consumer focus.
Boards could also comply by arranging for independent consumer experts, such as the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), to regularly attend.
Topics that consumers will have to be consulted on include the cost of bills, performance of key water services, support when things go wrong – like water outages – and the company’s investment priorities.
When decisions likely to materially impact consumers are made, the water company needs to have clear processes to ensure consumers are involved, Ofwat said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Is Thames Water a step closer to nationalisation?
As well as including water users in decision-making, utilities will have to work to understand how decisions impact consumers so those views are taken into account in future decisions.
Seeking this feedback must involve engaging with the new consumer panels being developed by the CCW to hold companies to account, Ofwat’s rules outline.
Why’s this being done?
It’s all part of the government’s aim to rebuild trust in the water sector and to improve accountability, transparency and performance in water firms.
The public has been outraged by record sewage outflows and polluted waterways at a time when senior executives are receiving bonuses and bills are rising.
New powers were granted to regulator Ofwat to clean up the sector, and rules on pay and bonuses were developed and took effect in June.
They’ve already been used to claw back bonuses.
What next?
Stakeholders have until 1 October to respond to the consultation, with Ofwat intending the rules take effect on existing water utilities in April.
Consultations already took place to make the suggested rules with 11,000 responses received from businesses, groups and individuals.
Not all of the replies made their way into the rules. The idea of having MPs and local authorities involved in decision-making, received from “several respondents”, appears not to have been included.
It comes despite the recent announcement of Ofwat being scrapped, as part of a once-in-a-generation review of the sector.
It and the other regulators are to be replaced by one single body.
Ofwat said it was working until new arrangements were in place and continuing to implement rules on remuneration and governance.
How’s it been received?
Environmental charity River Action said to rebuild trust in the industry, the government “needs to go a lot further than tinkering around the edges”.
“We need a complete overhaul of how water companies are owned, financed and governed. That means ending privatisation and instead operating for public benefit,” chief executive James Wallace said.
Industry group Water UK said: “It is important customers are involved in water companies’ decision-making.
“We will continue to work with government on these proposed rules and other vital reforms to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”
More than 200 UK pubs closed in the first half of the year as part of a “heartbreaking” trend which industry bosses fear is set to accelerate.
Analysis of government figures revealed 209 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the opening six months of 2025 – around eight every week.
The South East was hit the hardest, losing 31 pubs during the period.
It means 2,283 pubs have vanished from communities across England and Wales since the start of 2020.
Industry bosses said the “really sad pattern” is being driven by the high costs faced by pubs – and called for government reforms to business rates and beer duty.
Many pubs have been hit by changes to discounts on business rates, the property tax affecting high street businesses.
Hospitality businesses received a 60% discount on their business rates up to a cap of £110,000 – but this was cut to only 25% in April.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
July 2025: ‘Not surprising pubs are closing’
Pub owners had warned such a move would place significant pressure on their industry.
Last month, the owner of a pub told Sky News “you can’t make money anymore” and “it’s not surprising so many pubs are closing at an alarming rate”.
‘Staying open becomes impossible’
A rise in the national minimum wage and national insurance payments have also increased bills for pubs.
Alex Probyn, of commercial real estate specialists Ryan, which analysed the government data, said the higher costs are “all quietly draining profits until staying open becomes impossible”.
He added: “Slashing business rates relief for pubs from 75% to 40% this year has landed the sector with an extra £215m in tax bills.
“For a small pub, that’s a leap in the average bill from £3,938 to £9,451 – a 140% increase.”
Read more from Sky News:
Sharp rise in disabled people facing homelessness
Nearly 2,000 soldiers fighting Spain fires
‘A lot of these pubs never come back’
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer And Pub Association, said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking and there is a direct link between pubs closing for good and the huge jump in costs they have just endured.
“Pubs and brewers are important employers, drivers of economic growth, but are also really valuable to local communities across the country and have real social value.
“This is a really sad pattern, and unfortunately a lot of these pubs never come back.
“The government needs to act at the budget, with major reforms to business rates and beer duty.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike