Mum fights on for inquiry after daughter's death

Joy Dove has spent years campaigning for answers after the death of her disabled daughter Jodey Whiting who took her own life after her benefits were stopped. Despite other devastating family losses, Dove is fighting on for a public inquiry.

For Dove, 72, a letter from Sir Stephen Timms dated 12 October, is another chapter in a campaign that has come to define much of her life since her daughter died in 2017.

The Minister for Social Security and Disability sets out changes the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says it has made to improve support for vulnerable benefit claimants, following her daughter's death, aged 42.

However, Dove, from Stockton-on-Tees, says "it is still happening" to other vulnerable people and more than eight years on, she is calling for greater accountability from the DWP.

She successfully fought for a rare second inquest for Jodey which revealed the DWP's failings.

In June 2025 the senior coroner for Teesside, Clare Bailey, recorded a verdict of suicide due to a "deteriorating mental state" after the DWP's decision to stop benefits.

Dove welcomed a meeting with Timms in the summer and she said she believed he was "concerned and ahead" of the issues.

However, she still wants more answers about her daughter's death and greater transparency about the circumstances surrounding it.

She said she still hears from other bereaved families whose experiences concern her and she believes some vulnerable people are still not getting the support they need.

"That letter says it all - this is what they should have done for Jodey," she said.

"Last year a lady got in touch with me and said her daughter took her own life.

"So, it's still happening. Her daughter was only in her 20s and had a four-year-old little girl."

In his letter, Timms thanked Dove for sharing her experiences and acknowledged the determination she had shown in her campaign.

He also offers a "sincere and unreserved apology" for previous correspondence in which Jodey's name was incorrectly spelled as Jodie.

Sir Stephen goes on to outline a series of changes the DWP says it has introduced, informed by the inquest process, an investigation by the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) and engagement with the family and others who had raised concerns about vulnerable claimants.

These include encouraging decision makers to gather a wider range of evidence before making decisions on benefits, improving the recording of claimants' needs and vulnerabilities, and providing mental health training for staff.

It has also introduced specialist vulnerable customer champions and strengthened support for people with complex needs.

The letter says benefit payments are no longer automatically stopped while enquiries into concerns about a claimant's vulnerability are being pursued.

It also describes strengthened safeguarding procedures and guidance to help staff identify and respond to people at risk of self-harm or suicide.

Timms says the measures reflect a move towards a more "personalised and compassionate approach", by identifying vulnerable people earlier and providing additional support before decisions are made.

He acknowledges, however, that the changes cannot undo what happened to Jodey.

"Her case has contributed to significant reflection and learning across the department," he said in his letter.

During their meeting, Dove also requested a copy of the Internal Process Review into Jodey's case.

Timms said the department was considering the request, including taking legal advice, and will write to her again once a decision has been made.

For Dove, the letter is important in her campaign, but it does not mark its end.

She still wants a public inquiry and believes there are questions about the treatment of vulnerable people that need to be answered.

In July Timms told the BBC an interim review of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) in England and Wales had found them "not fit for purpose", with a final report due out later this autumn.

Dove's determination to keep going comes against a backdrop of family tragedy.

Since losing Jodey, she has also endured the murder of her grandson, Jodey's son Lewis Bell, and the death of another daughter.

Her grandson's murder two years ago, and the court trial has brought further heartache.

She recalls the moments when grief catches up with her, particularly since moving house and finding herself alone with photographs of lost family members.

"I like to keep active. I've just moved and for a while I've been a bit down.

"It's when you're on your own, surrounded by pictures of them all," she said.

Dove continues to look for ways to help other people even while dealing with her own grief.

It would have been Jodey's 52 birthday on Friday and her mother bought flowers to remember her.

She said remembering her daughter means continuing to speak out and trying to make sure other families do not have to endure the same pain.

She says her family remains close and they support one another through the difficult times by "pulling together".

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