Mother calls for public inquiry into DWP failings
SuppliedThe mother of a disabled woman who took her own life after her benefits were incorrectly stopped has called for a full public inquiry into failings of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Jodey Whiting, from Stockton-on-Tees, was housebound with chronic physical pain and died in 2017, just two weeks after her Employment Support Allowance (ESA) was denied because she was deemed fit for work.
Her mother Joy Dove has now met Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, in the House of Commons.
"Jodey was always just a name and a number to them - she was just one of millions and that must stop," she said. The DWP said it had since made "significant" improvements.
The first inquest into her daughter's death lasted just 37 minutes, but Dove spent eight years campaigning for a rare second inquest which revealed the DWP's failings in her case.
The hearing in Middlesbrough heard the 42-year-old mother had killed herself after her benefits were incorrectly stopped.
She left notes saying she had no food, could not pay bills and was in "debt, debt, debt".
An Independent Case Examiner (ICE) report into the decision to remove the benefits found a number of mistakes had been made and that her payments should not have been withdrawn, and recommended the DWP pay £10,000 to her family.
Dove said during her years of campaigning she had spoken to many families who had also lost loves ones because their benefits were stopped.
She said: "Only a full public inquiry would get to the truth, for all the people that have been failed."
Dove said in their meeting, Sir Stephen had promised greater accountability and scrutiny of the department's work, but there were no current plans for a public inquiry.
But she said it would not be the end of her campaign.
"The way the DWP treated my daughter was brutal and disgraceful," she said.
"I'll keep fighting to get justice for Jodey and all the other families who have lost loved ones."
In a statement, the DWP said: "The Department has acknowledged the findings of the Coroner, apologised to Jodey's family for the failings in her case, and made significant improvements."
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