Let’s find out the facts about people who have died under benefit sanction

“Dear DWP…

“I am writing to request information regarding people on benefit and under sanction. If the information is available, please indicate where I may find it. If the information is not currently available to the public, please consider this a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

“Is it possible to see month-by-month details (from May 2010 onwards, where applicable) of the number of people on Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit (until it was discontinued), Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment, satisfying the following criteria:

  • The total number of people on the individual benefits in each month?
  • The number who have died during each month?
  • The number under sanction during each month?
  • The number who died while under sanction during each month?

“I shall look forward to your response.”

I sent the above FoI request today (September 10), so we can probably expect the first evasion attempt in early October.

No doubt any answer will be accompanied by a claim that correlation between a sanction and a death does not imply causation.

Perhaps not, but any such correlation does imply that investigation is required to ascertain the exact cause.

So, depending on the reply, you can tell what my next step will be.


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13 Comments

  1. NMac September 10, 2017 at 1:58 pm - Reply

    It would also be useful to see the different towns and areas involved in each case.

  2. Brian September 10, 2017 at 2:44 pm - Reply

    Any results will make interesting reading.

  3. wildthing666 September 10, 2017 at 4:12 pm - Reply

    That’s a go feck yourself answer comming from the DWP. Or in their words We do not hold this information.

    • Mike Sivier September 10, 2017 at 6:23 pm - Reply

      They do.

  4. Jeffrey Davies September 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm - Reply

    we sorry we do not keep records of deaths by our hands we bury the evidence so no one can see it oh dear

  5. Justin September 10, 2017 at 6:20 pm - Reply

    They also state that any hcp that does not make the grade is not allowed to practice,really, so why are they still assessing and why are there very little cases going to professional level,with the amount of incompetent assessments and incompetent decision made, there clearly is a issue here

  6. katythenightowl September 10, 2017 at 8:55 pm - Reply

    It’s a pity we can’t organise everyone in the country to send this request all at the same time – do you think they’d gt the message then? Lol

    • Mike Sivier September 11, 2017 at 3:52 pm - Reply

      No. They’d say it was a vexatious request.
      I’ve been down that road already.

      • katythenightowl September 12, 2017 at 11:53 pm - Reply

        Yes, we mustn’t expect these MPs who are, after all, public servants, who are paid a huge annual wage, despite the austerity that is killing people every day, and who are allowed more in expenses in a year than most people can claim in their lives – all paid for out of our taxes – to actually do that dirty word ‘work’ for their money, must we? :(

  7. Barry Davies September 10, 2017 at 10:35 pm - Reply

    This has been attempted before they claim not to have any record of people who have died after being sanctioned because they do not follow them up.

  8. marcusdemowbray September 11, 2017 at 7:38 am - Reply

    Keep up the good work Mike. My partner has her THIRD WCA today……

  9. helenmaddock33 September 14, 2017 at 10:42 am - Reply

    Well done and thank you on behalf of all of those left so exhausted by the continual pogrom on those both disabled and on benefits, I can barely raise an email so hats off to you for another FOI request. Too many slippery people not playing by their own rules are in positions of little accountability.

    • Mike Sivier September 14, 2017 at 10:51 am - Reply

      Oh, I’m tired too.
      I’m just bloody-minded with it.

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