28 January 2016
What: The Ministry of Justice refuses to investigate why DWP appears to have failed to fulfil its legal duty to respond to the coroner’s prevention of future deaths report following the death of Stephen Carré. The report was written in late March 2010 by coroner Tom Osborne and sent to DWP’s permanent secretary. Legislation updated in 2008 makes it clear that DWP had a legal duty to respond to the report within 56 days and send a copy to the Lord Chancellor. MoJ refuses to answer questions about the missing response.
The chief coroner’s office also later refuses to investigate DWP’s failure to respond to the report. The Judicial Office claims that the coroner received no further communication from DWP after an initial letter of 4 May 2010 seeking further information, despite being shown letters that were sent by Osborne to DWP that prove otherwise.
Why significant: Shows wider government collusion in DWP’s attempted cover-up of evidence linking the WCA with the deaths of claimants.