DWP ‘failure’ as people claiming benefits ‘face harm’ | Personal Finance | Finance

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should face a new legal duty to protect vulnerable claimants, following a series of preventable deaths linked to failures in the benefits system, MPs warned today.

In a searing report, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee calls for an end to the department’s “piecemeal” approach to safeguarding and demands urgent reform to prevent further tragedies.

It follows high-profile cases including Errol Graham, whose body was found months after his benefits were stopped, and Jodey Whiting, who died after her disability payments were cut despite serious mental health issues.

Debbie Abrahams MP, Chair of the Committee, said the system was failing some of the most vulnerable people in society — with devastating consequences.

“That people continue to face harm after dealing with the DWP is a self-evident failure of safeguarding in the system,” she said.

“Until recently, getting people back into work to cut costs had been prioritised over providing support and care for vulnerable people. We heard evidence that the process itself of engaging with the DWP itself too often led to mental distress.

“Where this led to not being able to get financial support, many had paid the ultimate price.”

She added: “We’ve heard that whilst some have been lifted by the system when it works well, this can depend on claimants’ confidence that the system will help them.

“Too often, we heard their trust has been smashed by continual cost-cutting drives and an unhelpful media narrative. Many fear coming forward and expressing that they need additional support due to their circumstances and they fall deeper into vulnerability and despair as a result.”

The Committee is calling for a statutory safeguarding duty, placing clear responsibility on ministers and staff across the DWP to identify and support people at risk. It wants vulnerable claimants to be referred to other agencies with a duty of care, with the Secretary of State held personally accountable.

Ms Abrahams added: “Is this a system that is going to help people find their way back into sustainable work? Is this a system that will humanely support those who never can? Both need to happen.

“Deep-rooted cultural change of the DWP is desperately needed to rebuild trust and put safeguarding at the heart of policy development.

“Introducing a statutory duty to safeguard vulnerable claimants for the Department is a fundamental part of this. It will help to focus minds from the top-down, ensuring that safeguarding is everyone’s business; improving accountability, and ensure proactive identification of vulnerability and the consistent application of the best protective practices.”

The report is the product of two years of evidence-gathering and was triggered by mounting concern over the deaths of claimants failed by the system. MPs said the DWP must move away from cost-cutting as the primary focus and instead build a system that puts people first.

The Committee described public trust in the department as “sorely damaged” and said only a fundamental change in culture will begin to repair it.

Other key recommendations include:

Adding a specific category for victims of domestic abuse under Universal Credit’s ‘Additional Support Area’ to ensure their unique needs are recognised — an absence MPs branded a “glaring omission.”

Mandating health impact assessments by the Chief Medical Adviser’s team for all major policy changes, something which is currently applied inconsistently.

The scale of the problem remains unclear. While 240 internal reviews were carried out by the DWP between 2020 and 2024, the true number of people harmed is believed to be significantly higher.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently investigating the department’s treatment of disabled people and those with long-term mental health conditions. That inquiry is ongoing.