Early October 2014

Liberal Democrat DWP minister contradicts his Tory colleague over records kept on deaths linked to benefits.

What: Pensions minister Steve Webb contradicts the previous week’s dismissal by his coalition partner Mark Harper that DWP should collate reports of benefit-related deaths. Webb says that there “may not be a systematic approach” within the department, because of the number of inquests that are held, but that “when cases come up, clearly when the department becomes aware of cases through the media, they do get looked at”.

Why Significant: Webb’s comments add to pressure on DWP over its 22 August freedom of information response [see 22 August 2014]