4 September 2019

DWP secures funding to set up an independent panel to examine cases where its own failings have led to the deaths of benefit claimants.

What: DWP secures funding from the Treasury to set up an independent panel to examine cases where its own failings have led to the deaths of benefit claimants. The Treasury says it will provide funding of £36 million for 2020-21 to fund both the panel and ensure that decision-making on benefit claims is “accurate” and that benefit application processes are “straightforward and accessible”. Justin Tomlinson, the minister for disabled people, refuses to provide any details about the panel when questioned the following month by Labour shadow minister for disabled people, Marsha de Cordova.

Why significant: High-profile action in response to mounting concerns, but with a lack of information about the panel’s terms of reference and its independence, it is impossible to say what the aim is and why it was set up.