Open letter to

Rt Hon Mel Stride MP

Dear Secretary of State,

As the bereaved families of people who have died because of the catastrophic failings of the benefits system, we are writing to request a meeting with you. Your predecessor Thérèse Coffey would not agree to meet with us but we hope that you will take a different approach.

We have all been devastated to lose our loved ones because of the impact that their encounters with the Department for Work and Pensions had on their mental health and we continue to live with the pain. We do not doubt that many others have had experiences much like ours. The benefits system – which is meant to be a safety net and lifeline – is harming some people who most need its support. It is not fit to meet the needs of the disabled people it supports. It feels inhumane and unaccountable and has failed us all.

Together, we refuse to stand by and watch the same thing happen to other families.

It is hard to imagine a more serious concern for a department that exists to support people. Since 2012, the DWP has set up more than 323 internal reviews into the death or serious harm of people supported by the benefits system. As the DWP’s internal processes are inconsistent and unclear, we fear there may be many more cases that haven’t been reported or investigated. For as long as that remains the case, other families will continue to suffer as we have.

We have two urgent requests for the government. Firstly, we want a full public inquiry to learn the truth about what has happened so far. Secondly, we are calling for a new independent body to be established to investigate future cases of death or serious harm in the benefits system.

On behalf of those we have lost, we are doing all we can to find out how the State has failed to protect vulnerable people from death and serious harm. We are seeking answers about how these situations can be prevented from happening again and how the whole system can be made more humane and more transparent. It shouldn’t fall to families like ours to fight through the courts, while being resisted at every turn by the DWP. Yet without proper systems of transparency and accountability these tragedies will keep happening, leaving us with no choice.

As the Secretary of State for a department which supports so many people who are at increased risk of self-harm or suicide, you have the power to save and improve so many lives by making real change.

Please meet with us and hear what we have to say to help prevent others experiencing the loss that we have suffered.

Yours sincerely,

Imogen Day, sister of Philippa Day (Philippa died in 2019)
Leanne Dooley, daughter of Kevin Dooley (Kevin died in 2018)
Joy Dove, mother of Jodey Whiting (Jodey died in 2017)
Trudi Johnson, sister of Clive Johnson (Clive died in 2017)