5 May 2016

DWP figures shows that of the 49 peer reviews into deaths of people claiming benefits, 18 of the people who had died by suicide had been claiming employment support allowance (ESA).

What: Following a complaint to the information commissioner by journalist and campaigner Natalie Leal, DWP released figures which showed that, of the 40 cases where claimants had died from suicide or apparent suicide [out of the 49 deaths that had been subject to peer review between February 2012 and October 2014], 18 had been claiming ESA in the six months preceding their death. And 13 of these ESA claimants fell under the classification of “mental and behavioural disorders” as a primary or secondary condition.

Why significant: Further evidence of suicides linked to ESA and the WCA system.