Our response to a new report calling on the DWP to protect people who claim benefits

MPs in the Work and Pensions Committee have called for the benefits system to have a legal duty to safeguard vulnerable claimants. 

Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said:

"For too long, vulnerable people living with mental illness have suffered devastating harm and lost their lives due to failures in the benefits system. If implemented, a statutory duty for the DWP to safeguard vulnerable claimants would be a crucial step toward real accountability, something we and other committed campaigners have advocated for.

"Like our NHS, the benefits system was set up to support those in need, yet without legal safeguards a punitive and harmful approach has gone unchecked, with little transparency on whether lessons have been learned from past tragedies. The government has pledged to renew its focus on safeguarding - this must include a statutory duty for the DWP to safeguard vulnerable claimants that prioritises the wellbeing of people affected by mental illness in every policy and decision.”