DWP not ruling out benefits block

The Work and Pensions secretary has refused to rule out stopping payments to vulnerable benefit claimants as she was quizzed on how the department is learning from cases of suicide.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed 10 lead safeguarding officials and will recruit more to be a point of contact across England’s regions to escalate concerns about claimants who may need additional support.

They will require a multiagency case conference involving representatives such as social landlords and adult social services before decisions on stopping benefits are made.

A National Audit Office (NAO) report in February showed that the DWP had investigated 69 instances where people receiving benefits had killed themselves since 2014-15.

They included Errol Graham, who starved to death in 2018, months after his disability benefit payments were stopped.

DWP permanent secretary Peter Schofield said if safeguarding concerns are identified relating to a claimant who has stopped engaging, a meeting with other agencies will take place so the department can better understand the context.

These could include social landlords, adult social services or third sector charities who may know about and be able to support additional needs.

Secretary of state Therese Coffey, when asked if this meant no benefits would be stopped if a claimant had been identified as vulnerable, said decisions would be taken on a case-by-case basis.