The body of a disabled man was found in his flat in distressing, squalid conditions, just weeks after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly removed his disability benefits because he had failed to return a claim form.
His sister, his only surviving close relative, believes he may have been left without enough credit on his phone to call for help, while he had not had enough money to fix his broken mobility scooter.
Susan believes the wrongful removal of his personal independence payment (PIP) played a significant part in his death.
She told Disability News Service (DNS): “He was already on the breadline, so I think it would have been devastating for him.”
She also believes DWP failed to make the necessary safeguarding checks before removing his PIP.
She has now warned that the death of her much-loved brother must act as a warning of the horrors to come if the government goes ahead with its planned £4.5 billion cuts to PIP.
Even if he had been able to return the forms, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have got it.
I used to do a load of reconsideration and appeals for work and the ignorance of the decision makers is staggering.
One claim was denied, among other reasons, because my client could play a guitar. Another client, with epilepsy, was told that he didn’t need supervision when showering, as he should just sit down in the shower to mitigate injury from seizures.
I found they ignored what we put in the form so frequently that it wasn’t worth doing more than the bare minimum and instead putting the work into the reconsideration.
This poor man had nobody to fight for him, but the system should not be set up so that so many people have to fight. I don’t believe anyone with any cognitive or learning impairment, or mental health condition, would be able to go through the application process without support; it’s that difficult.
And I would put money on them reinstating it after hearing of his death. The shit I have seen them pull, I think it’s likely.