Peer reviews/IPR conclude DWP contributed to deaths

Department for Work and Pensions did not have the information requested.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

In our FoI request your ref FOI2020/03586 we asked "Please kindly provide the titles and dates of all peer reviews carried out from 2010 to the most recent available. If the exact date isn't known then please just specify the month and year." You provided some of this information.

New request: From available information please supply the numeric count of peer reviews and IPR where it was established DWP likely contributed to the deaths of its customers by following or not following relevant laws and procedures.

Relevant information for public reference:
https://d.pr/f/9iDL1n https://d.pr/hBO0T5

Yours faithfully,

Lee Jefferson
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Dear DWP FoI

This is a clarification of our request dated 28th February.

In our FoI request your ref FOI2020/03586 we asked " Please kindly provide the titles and dates of all peer reviews carried out from 2010 to the most recent available. If the exact date isn't known then please just specify the month and year." You provided the some of the information which hadn't been destroyed by the department.

New request: From available information please supply the numeric count of peer reviews and IPRs where it was established DWP likely contributed to the deaths of its customers by following or not following relevant laws and procedures. Parameters: From 2010 to the most recent available.

Relevant information for public reference:
https://d.pr/f/9iDL1n https://d.pr/hBO0T5

Yours faithfully,

Lee Jefferson
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.
 
By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 
 
If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.
 
Email FOI responses will be issued from [1][email address]
We recommend that you add this address to your email contacts otherwise
the response may be treated as Spam or Junk mail.  
 
Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.
 
[2]http://www.gov.uk/dwp
 
 

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no-reply@dwp.ecase.co.uk on behalf of Operations FOI Team, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Lee Jefferson,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 28
February.

Your response is attached

Yours sincerely,

DWP Operations FOI Team

no-reply@dwp.ecase.co.uk on behalf of Operations FOI Team, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Lee Jefferson,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 29th
February.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

J Roberts left an annotation ()

You might be interested in this:

In FTT decision EA/2020/0027V, which concerned the suicide of benefit recipients, the Judge stated that the Commissioner was correct to criticise the DWP because the appellant would not have received information he did had he not complained to her:

'25. It is clear in this case that the DWP did not approach this request in the way that it should have done. If the Appellant had not pursued this matter to the Commissioner then none of the information later disclosed would have been provided at all. The Commissioner was right to criticise DWP for its approach in this case. If public authorities do not carry out proper searches when FOIA requests are made, there will be an unnecessary use of resources when the Commissioner and the Tribunal need to become involved to resolve the issues that arise.'

https://informationrights.decisions.trib...

J Roberts left an annotation ()

A recent judgment concerning a claimant who died by suicide in February 2017:

2021] EWHC 2511 (Admin)

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Adm...

'34. I am nevertheless bound to observe that the Department’s failures in this case, set out in the ICE report, are shocking.

81. The guidance refers to “Safeguard Visits for non-attendance at mandatory interviews” and “failing in your duty on behalf of DWP to safeguard vulnerable claimants by not checking the Mental Health flag.” It does not follow, however, that the use of the word “safeguarding” imports the assumption of responsibility.

97. I agree that this claim should be dismissed, for the reasons given by Farbey J.

101. For the claimant, it is said that the errors in this case are not isolated. But the ICE did not identify any systemic flaws.

102. Nobody has sought to disagree with the ICE’s conclusion that these were “significant failings”. The Department accepts that assessment. But that is not the same thing as a breach of the state’s operational duty to safeguard life.'