Family say DWP has unanswered questions over death of disabled woman whose benefits were stopped

The family of a disabled woman whose body lay undiscovered in her flat for more than three years after her benefits were stopped say they have serious unanswered questions about the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Laura Winham’s body was not found until May 2021, more than three-and-a-half years after she was last seen alive.

But her family say DWP appeared to have failed to carry out checks on her welfare before cutting off her benefits.

They spoke out this week at the end of an inquest and the publication of a safeguarding review into the multi-agency failures that contributed to her death.

She is believed to have starved to death in November 2017 in her council-owned flat in Sheerwater, Woking.

Her death has clear similarities with other deaths of disabled claimants, including those of Errol Graham, whose body was also discovered in his flat in June 2018 after starving to death when his benefits were removed; Mark Wood, who starved to death in his home in 2013 after being found ineligible by DWP for employment and support allowance (ESA); and Timothy Finn, who starved to death in his home in autumn 1998 after his benefits were stopped.

Laura Winham (pictured), who was living in Woking at the time of her death, had been receiving disability benefits since the age of just two, after being born with Goldenhar Syndrome and later developing several connected health conditions.

She was also diagnosed with persistent delusional disorder in 2009 and had two spells of detention under the Mental Health Act, in 2006 and 2010.

DWP wrote to her in early 2016 to say her disability living allowance claim would be ending and she would need to apply for the new personal independence payment (PIP).

But she told Woking Borough Council that she could not cope with the “invasive medical check-up” the application would involve, almost certainly a reference to the much-criticised PIP assessment process, and her DLA was stopped in March 2016.

Her ESA had been stopped three years earlier, although it is not clear why.

The coroner, Dr Karen Henderson, said there had been a “lost opportunity” to “proactively investigate” the loss of Laura’s benefits, but that it was not possible to say if this would have prevented her death.

She said DWP had since taken steps to be “more proactive” and to carry out more coordination with other agencies.

Both the inquest and the safeguarding review into her death – published this week (PDF) – stressed that she had cut her family out of her life due to her delusional disorder.

They had been forced to respect Laura’s wishes because every time they tried to contact her it caused her significant mental distress and put her safety at risk.

Over the 18 months after losing her DLA, her savings ran out, and her last food shop probably took place through a Tesco delivery on 4 September 2017. She recorded on her calendar against that day that she had no money left.

At some point, probably in early November 2017, she appears to have starved to death, although Dr Henderson concluded on Tuesday that it was impossible to determine the cause of death and recorded an open conclusion.

By the time DWP was eventually alerted to her death, several years later, many of her records had been destroyed.

The family of Laura Winham have shared with Disability News Service the secret internal process review (IPR) carried out by DWP into her death, obtained by her legal team and marked “Official Sensitive” by the department.

The case review and findings take up less than one page, with the document admitting there were “limited records of the customer’s interactions” with DWP because they had been destroyed, although it confirmed that her ESA stopped in April 2013 and her DLA in March 2016.

The records show she failed to attend two face-to-face work capability assessments (WCAs) before her ESA was stopped, so it is possible that DWP again failed to carry out safeguarding checks.

Despite the unanswered questions about DWP’s safeguarding actions, and the lack of remaining evidence, the IPR somehow concluded that DWP “acted appropriately during the customer’s benefit claims”.

This week, DWP did not challenge the suggestion that it failed to carry out any safeguarding visits when Laura Winham did not complete her PIP claim, and also when she failed to attend two WCAs.

It also did not dispute that there had been a “lost opportunity” to “proactively investigate” the loss of her benefits.

And it failed to explain how its IPR had concluded that DWP “acted appropriately during the customer’s benefit claims” when there were so many unanswered questions about its safeguarding actions, and when it had destroyed most of the relevant records.

It also failed to apologise to the family or say if it accepted the coroner’s criticism.

It declined to issue a statement, but instead produced a series of background briefing notes which suggested that the department’s “condolences” remained with the family, and that it had introduced measures to support “vulnerable” claimants since her death, and had introduced strengthened guidance around safely stopping payments to claimants identified as vulnerable.

In a statement issued on Tuesday at the end of the inquest, Laura’s family – who described her as a “much-loved, much-missed daughter and sister” – said she had been left to “fend for herself” by agencies including DWP, Surrey County Council, Woking council, and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (see separate story).

In a statement delivered by their solicitor, Iftikhar Manzoor, of Hudgell Solicitors, Laura’s family said: “The circumstances of Laura’s death have been absolutely devastating for her loved ones.

“They are a caring and loving family who I have come to know well over the past few years.

“Laura was a much-loved, much-missed daughter and sister.

“Her family did everything in their power to support her as she battled her mental health struggles until it became apparent she may harm herself unless they backed away.

“They believed Laura would be in the best possible hands when handing her into the care of professionals – people with much more knowledge and understanding of supporting those with serious mental health issues.

“Sadly, in this instance, that was not the case.”

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