The family of Philippa Day, a single mother who died from a deliberate overdose after a series of official failings led to her disability benefits being cut off for months, has called on the government to urgently fix “systemic” problems in the benefits system.
Imogen Day, the younger sister of Philippa, who died in October 2019, said urgent change was needed to break down the “constant cold and unsympathetic wall of resistance” that her sister encountered as she tried to get her benefits reinstated.
The family’s call for major improvements to the way disability benefit claims are handled was backed by politicians and campaigners. Labour said the “shocking” treatment of Philippa Day made the case for change impossible for ministers to ignore.
A devastating inquest report on Wednesday into Day’s death identified 28 different errors in the handling of her case by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its private contractor Capita, and highlighted serious structural failings in the benefit system.
Day, 27, of Nottingham, had a long history of serious mental illness and was diabetic and agoraphobic, yet benefits officials failed repeatedly to acknowledge her vulnerabilities on their files or recognise she needed specialist support.
The misery inflicted on Day as a result was highlighted in a recording, released on Wednesday, of a phone call between a DWP official and Day in which she tearfully pleaded to have her benefits reinstated to give her “a reason to live”.
In the recording, which DWP lawyers attempted to prevent being released to the media, Day can be heard trying to persuade the official of the seriousness of her situation. At one point, having been told by Day that she is penniless and hungry, the official says: “Is there anyone in your family or a local charity who can help you out?”
The coroner, Gordon Clow, concluded: “The distress caused by the administration of Philippa Day’s welfare benefits claim led to [her] suffering acute distress and exacerbated many of her other chronic stressors. Were it not for these problems, it is unlikely that Philippa Day would have taken an overdose of her prescribed insulin.”
Clow dismissed DWP arguments made at the inquest that mistakes made in Day’s case could be explained by “inevitable individual human error”. The failures happened because of systemic problems with poor training and record-keeping, inaccurate communications and inadequate staff guidance, he said.
Clow also brushed aside DWP requests to delay a decision on whether it should conduct a prevention of future deaths inquiry. The DWP will be required to conduct an inquiry into its failings, set out how it has improved its processes as a result, and make its findings public.
Imogen Day said the family wanted to see “continued and systemic” change to benefits administration and assessment, including rigorous staff training approved by mental health professionals. “While Pip’s death was tragic, it was surely not the first and that’s been evidenced throughout.”
She added: “I would also quite like to see more safeguarding measures introduced as we know that people that claim disability benefits are inherently vulnerable due to their disabilities, and [the DWP] should have a duty to safeguard the clients that they work with.”
The DWP offered condolences to Philippa’s family and said it would “carefully consider” the coroner’s findings. A Capita spokesperson apologised “for the mistakes made in processing her claim and the additional stress which was caused to Philippa” and said it would “act upon” the coroner’s findings.
The Capita spokesperson added: “We have strengthened our processes over the last 18 months and are committed to continuously working to deliver a high-quality, empathic service for every claimant.”
Merry Varney, of the solicitors Leigh Day, which represented the family, said the coroner’s verdict left “no doubt that the DWP and Capita through its flawed handling of Pip’s disability benefits claim materially contributed to the death of a much-loved mum, sister and daughter”.
The Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, a veteran campaigner on benefits-related deaths, said: “No more excuses, the government must set up an independent body to review DWP practices which may be causing harm to claimants, including health assessments and sanctions.”
The case will intensify concerns over the DWP’s handling of benefit claims by vulnerable people. A report by the National Audit Office last year revealed at least 69 suicides could be linked to problems with benefit claims since 2014.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
