28 January 2020
DWP admits the serious case panel will not be independent.
What: DWP had originally claimed that the serious case panel (see 4 September 2019) would be “independent”. But following questions from journalist Steve Topple at The Canary, it admits instead that the panel “will be chaired by a director and members will be senior civil servants from across the department”.
Why significant: There had been hopes that the panel might represent an attempt to provide some independent oversight of DWP’s safeguarding performance and failings.
Citations
A ‘secret’ DWP claimant deaths inquiry was just blown open, Topple, 2020
DWP lied about independence of new deaths panel, Pring, 2020