14 January 2021
What: A coroner rules that Disability News Service will be allowed to see the draft internal process review that was drawn up by DWP following the death of Philippa Day in October 2019 [see 16 October 2019]. Philippa Day’s family had supported the legal bid by DNS. Addressing the inquest, DNS editor John Pring had told the coroner that the IPR should be released “because the issue relates to whether their actions and/or policies are causing or contributing to the deaths of disabled people claiming benefits”, and that the draft IPR was an “important historical document that will help to cast a light” on the government’s welfare reforms. When the IPR was released to DNS it exposed repeated failures of policy and procedure that contributed to her decision to take her own life.
Why significant: This is the first time that an internal process review has been released to the media.