Theresa May’s snub to grieving mum shows Tories are engineering benefit-related deaths – and they don’t care
Theresa May: She couldn’t care less.
You know what I’m going to say about this.
The Department for Work and Pensions is adamant that we must not claim any causal effect between its decisions and any downturn in benefit claimants’ health – including death.
But that doesn’t work in this case.
Jodey Whiting was found ‘fit for work’ in the face of a wealth of evidence showing the opposite to be the case.
For a start, she had missed a work capability assessment because she had been in hospital undergoing treatment for a brain cyst – and pneumonia.
She had been taking 23 tablets a day, and morphine twice daily, for conditions including scoliosis and bipolar disorder.
She was clearly unfit for work.
But the Department for Work and Pensions’ decision-maker refused to reschedule the assessment and found Ms Whiting ‘fit for work’ instead. The DWP then rubber-stamped a refusal of her request for mandatory reconsideration.
She contacted Citizens’ Advice – and an attempt to secure a new work capability assessment was put in motion – but Ms Whiting took her own life days later.
The ‘fit for work’ decision was rescinded only a couple of weeks after her death.
Job done, you see. The Tories could afford to admit they were wrong because their victim had died and would not burden the benefit books any more. That is how they work.
And now they can’t even be bothered to fake sorrow for the death. Mrs May’s correspondence team failed to offer condolences and her spokesperson refused even to comment on the matter.
The lack of any decent human consideration, coupled with the callousness inherent in the way they treated the deceased woman, damns the Tories.
A disabled woman whose daughter took her own life after being wrongly found “fit for work” has vowed to continue her fight for justice, despite the prime minister’s office brushing off her request for a meeting.
Joy Dove wrote in July to ask for a meeting with Theresa May to discuss the tragic death of her daughter Jodey Whiting in February 2017, and the thousands of other disabled victims of the government’s “wrong decisions”.
But the prime minister’s correspondence team dismissed her letter and replied just days later to say that a meeting would not be possible because of “the tremendous pressures of her diary”.
The letter failed to even mention Jodey Whiting or her death or express any condolences.
Source: WCA tragedy woman’s mum vows to fight on for justice despite No 10 letter snub
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The Department for Work and Pensions is adamant that we must not claim any causal effect between its decisions and any downturn in benefit claimants’ health – including death.we. only following orders aktion t4 still rolling along
I have always said been in hospital was not a good excuse for not attending. This proves I was correct. I had an appointment with my disability employment advisor (DEA) and went into hospital and notified them 7 days in advance. They tried to sanction me but as I was already prepared for sanctions, I laid into the DWP emailing them a copy of my email to them 5 weeks earlier and the DEA’s reply. They still wanted to sanction me so I downloaded county court forms and filled them in saying I was sending them in in 48 hours I got a reply the same day saying the sanction was lifted.
Does the DWP expect the NHS to provide a taxi service to JCP offices and WCA offices when the claimant is in hospital? Obviously they do the PLUS of Job centre plus stands for sanctioning as part of the PLUS service.
You did see the part where the deceased lady had no idea she had been contacted to take part in an assessment interview until after she got back from hospital, I hope? The DWP had not sent the letter before she went in, so she had no idea it was expected of her. That means the steps you describe were not an option for her.
time to start jailing the incompetent ones, the assessor should be charged with murder an d the dm should be charged with murder and it should go higher up the chain, they had plenty of warnings, start jailing ministers and there advisors
Clearly the DWP is not fit for purpose and no civilized society should accept such a draconian organization which seems hell-bent on depriving those in need of assistance; shameful is the only adjective for it!
Clearly the DWP is not fit for purpose and no civilized society should accept such a draconian organisation which seems hell-bent on depriving those in need of assistance; shameful is the only adjective for it!
What evil people they are that currently form the minority government in Britain.
Thank you for voicing this. I firmly believe, and have openly said, that the Tories are committing a form of Sociocide – wiping out the most vulnerable and potentially ‘needy’ in our society. As you say: “ The Tories could afford to admit they were wrong because their victim had died and would not burden the benefit books any more. That is how they work.”
Yes damn the ‘evil tory government’ but they couldn’t do it on their own. They operate with the open support of a sizable part of the UK electorate that is not so easy to shift: brothers, sisters, cousins, aunties, uncles, grannies and grandads. This is a chilling indictment of a large part of our ‘society’ which claims membership of ‘civilization’. No wonder the UN is worried but what a sorry state of affairs when their continual reporting and condemnation of this atrocious state of affairs is blatantly and consistently ignored. Where does one find ‘humanity and justice’ in this appalling morass of contempt?
Clearly something needs to be done about the DWP…why are they not being regulated and brought to court with theIr negligence… how the many deaths need to occur before something happens
It’s actually a form of ethnic cleansing. Similar to 1930’s Germany which placed no value on anyone who was not pure Aryan. In this case it’s not fit and able
Pat – part of the reason ” … why are they not being regulated … ” (besides the withdrawal of legal aid previously available for many areas of life) is the privatisation of justice. For example, make a complaint to the European Human Rights Commission (EHCR) about, say, about a government’s public service organisation not complying with the Equality Act 2011 (discrimination) and you will soon discover that G4S is legally empowered to consider your complaint and decide whether or not to investigate it or not!
Last Monday I found my best friend passed away on the bathroom floor after being told there was no hospital bed available for her. She was in the Support Group of ESA, awaiting a decision from the upper tribunal about her PIP claim. The Tories will be happy though one less claimant.. I HATE THE TORIES.