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Claimant deaths? DWP vs Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - have any effect?

dellab49dellab49 Posts: 295
Forum Member
For ESA, DLA, PIP claimant applications.

Information Commissioner asked to rule on vulnerable claimant deaths,

Benefits and Work has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to intervene as the DWP continues to ignore requests for further information about secret reports into claimant deaths.

Disability News Service discovered last year that the DWP had carried out secret reviews into the deaths of 49 claimants. The DWP have refused to publish details of those reviews.

In June of this year Benefits and Work made a freedom of information request asking:

a) How many of the 49 claimants whose deaths were peer reviewed were ESA claimants who were, or had recently been, on the work programme.

b) How many of these were deemed to be vulnerable claimants in relation to ‘safeguarding’ procedures.

However, while the DWP admit that they hold this information, they refuse to hand it over on the grounds that:

“The Department considers this to be confidential information about our clients gathered by civil servants in the course of their duties. This being the case Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (SSAA) prohibits the release of such information.”

We don’t for a moment accept the DWP’s grounds for refusal.

We asked for a review of the decision. Initially the DWP told us that they would give us their response by 25 August. When that date passed we contacted them and asked for a response within 7 days.

We received only an automated response.

At the end of 7 days we told the DWP we would now be contacting the ICO.

We received only an automated response.

We have now passed all the correspondence to the ICO.

Given the recent revelation that a coroner has ruled that a claimant’s suicide was triggered by being wrongly found fit for work, the DWP’s refusal to give more information about these deaths becomes increasingly suspicious.
Do you think that the DWP will give more (or any) answers or information to the Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) ?

or they will still hide it from the ICO and public?


Either way do you think it will have an affect on IDS and his policies?

Comments

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    Keyser_Soze1Keyser_Soze1 Posts: 25,182
    Forum Member
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    dellab49 wrote: »
    For ESA, DLA, PIP claimant applications.

    Information Commissioner asked to rule on vulnerable claimant deaths,

    Do you think that the DWP will give more (or any) answers or information to the Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) ?

    or they will still hide it from the ICO and public?


    Either way do you think it will have an affect on IDS and his policies?

    Even if a disabled person topped themselves in front of the table where IDS was tucking into his £39 breakfast it would have no affect at all.

    He would simply finish off his meal, step over the body and go on his merry way.
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    JasonJason Posts: 76,557
    Forum Member
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    Even if a disabled person topped themselves in front of the table where IDS was tucking into his £39 breakfast it would have no affect at all.

    He would simply finish off his meal, step over the body and go on his merry way.

    To use a well-worn forum cliche .. ^^^ this ..
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    joe_andersonjoe_anderson Posts: 356
    Forum Member
    dellab49 wrote: »
    For ESA, DLA, PIP claimant applications.

    Information Commissioner asked to rule on vulnerable claimant deaths,

    Do you think that the DWP will give more (or any) answers or information to the Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) ?

    or they will still hide it from the ICO and public?


    Either way do you think it will have an affect on IDS and his policies?

    Probably not because it is nonsense.
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    CELT1987CELT1987 Posts: 12,358
    Forum Member
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    Probably not because it is nonsense.
    Bit like your anti welfare posts then. Explain why you think its nonsense?
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    dellab49dellab49 Posts: 295
    Forum Member
    dellab49 wrote: »
    For ESA, DLA, PIP claimant applications.

    Information Commissioner asked to rule on vulnerable claimant deaths,

    Do you think that the DWP will give more (or any) answers or information to the Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) ?

    or they will still hide it from the ICO and public?


    Either way do you think it will have an affect on IDS and his policies?


    (This thread has been moved to a more appropriate section of the forum)

    the Politics forum, read it and check it there!
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    hyperstarspongehyperstarsponge Posts: 16,707
    Forum Member
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    dellab49 wrote: »
    (This thread has been moved to a more appropriate section of the forum)

    the Politics forum, read it and check it there!

    Awww please we should really merge some forums on here to boost activity, Some forums are quiet these days.
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    JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    Awww please we should really merge some forums on here to boost activity, Some forums are quiet these days.

    Just because someone says it's been moved doesn't actually mean it has. It's bizarre, but I found that post quite sweet in a weird way :)
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    HogzillaHogzilla Posts: 24,116
    Forum Member
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    Even if a disabled person topped themselves in front of the table where IDS was tucking into his £39 breakfast it would have no affect at all.

    He would simply finish off his meal, step over the body and go on his merry way.

    So inaccurate.>:(

    He'd wipe his shoes on the corpse and use the suicide note as bog paper, later.
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    Keyser_Soze1Keyser_Soze1 Posts: 25,182
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    Hogzilla wrote: »
    So inaccurate.>:(

    He'd wipe his shoes on the corpse and use the suicide note as bog paper, later.

    Of course, how could I forget? :D
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