Mother left ‘disgusted’ by DWP’s silence over secret report into Jodey Whiting’s death

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to release any information about a secret report into the death of a disabled woman, despite a coroner ruling that its actions had been the “trigger” for her suicide.

DWP has even refused to tell lawyers for the family of Jodey Whiting whether it carried out an internal process review (IPR) into her death.

It claimed in the letter that releasing an IPR to her family could breach her privacy, even though she died more than eight years ago.

It said IPRs were “internal retrospective investigations focused on organisational learning, not public accountability” and that they “often contain sensitive personal information about claimants, including health, benefit history, and interactions with DWP staff”.

It added: “The disclosure of such information, even to close family members, could be considered a breach of privacy.”

Disability News Service (DNS) reported in June that a second inquest into Jodey Whiting’s death – which only happened because of her mother’s eight-year campaign for justice and accountability – found that her “deteriorating” mental health had been “precipitated” by the withdrawal of her out-of-work disability benefits after she missed a work capability assessment.

But DNS also showed in June how DWP hid the truth from the coroner about its role in Jodey Whiting’s suicide, including by failing to confirm if an IPR was carried out.

Joy Dove, Jodey Whiting’s mother, told DNS this week that she was “really disgusted” by DWP’s refusal to release the IPR – or even to say whether one was carried out – after campaigning for more than eight years to discover the truth about DWP’s role in her daughter’s death, and for justice for her and countless other disabled people whose deaths were caused by DWP.

She said: “We were forced to give documents to the coroner, we had to do what we were told, so why the heck can’t they?

“What’s the problem? We know she’s dead because of them. What are they hiding?

“They don’t care. To them, Jodey is just a number. It’s not personal to them. They are not bothered.”

In the letter, a solicitor in the Government Legal Department – writing on behalf of DWP – made it clear that DWP “fully accepts the coroner’s conclusions” in the second inquest, and “accepts that the withdrawal of Jodey’s Employment and Support Allowance precipitated her deteriorating mental state”.

But further anguish was caused to the family by the Government Legal Department mis-spelling Jodey’s name in a brief one-line apology included in the letter, saying: “Please do pass on this heartfelt and sincere apology from DWP to Jodie’s family.”

Dove said she was annoyed at this lack of care and respect and said she did not consider it a “proper apology”.

She is now considering a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman over DWP’s actions and its role in her daughter’s death.

The letter came as Steve Darling, the Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson, told DNS that he was hoping to use the government’s new Hillsborough Law to force DWP to release IPRs to relatives.

This is because Labour’s public office (accountability) bill includes a new legal duty on public authorities and public officials “to act with candour, transparency and frankness”.

In an interview with DNS at his party’s annual conference in Bournemouth, Darling said he wanted the bill to produce a “culture change” within DWP and the whole of Whitehall, and that he intends to ask parliamentary questions on how the release of IPRs will be part of that.

The solicitor for Jodey Whiting’s family, Merry Varney, from Leigh Day, said yesterday (Wednesday): “Joy has fought for many years to secure recognition that Jodey’s death was caused by DWP failings.

“The second inquest into Jodey’s death confirmed that earlier this year and during the hearing the DWP witness was unable to confirm whether an internal process review had been competed following Jodey’s death.

“Joy had hoped that a full and frank apology, together with disclosure of information about any internal process review, would come from the DWP.

“The response indicates a continued unwillingness of the DWP to be fully transparent and to admit, in clear unequivocal terms, that their acts and omissions cause deaths.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We continue to offer our sincerest condolences to Jodey Whiting’s family and are deeply apologetic for the misspelling of her name.”

The Department: How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence, DNS editor John Pring’s book on the years of deaths linked to DWP, including Jodey Whiting’s, is published by Pluto Press

Picture: Joy Dove (centre), Jodey’s father Eric Whiting (next to Joy), other relatives and members of their legal team, before June’s inquest

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