17 December 2021
What: A Dispatches documentary reveals how the DWP assessment system helped cause the deaths of four disabled claimants. It examines the cases of Errol Graham, Philippa Day, Roy Curtis and Jodey Whiting. The Truth About Disability Benefits was filmed and presented by disabled writer, journalist and presenter Richard Butchins, and produced in association with Disability News Service. As well as interviews with families, it reveals the results of a survey, designed in conjunction with the Centre for Welfare Reform, which showed that hundreds of disabled claimants had attempted to take their own lives because of their interactions with DWP.
Why significant: The documentary was one of the most high-profile media attempts yet to expose DWP’s failings, although it again failed to produce widespread anger or calls for action from the wider public and politicians.