Tag: Letter

19 explosion in the Sangin region

Posted on
She received income support
after suffering an accident at work in 2003.
In 2009 her son was killed in Afghanistan;
explosion in the Sangin region.
She received a death in service payment:
66,000.
She found a letter from the Department
telling her the money
made her ineligible to claim support
after she returned from a remembrance service.

[Ledbury Reporter, 19/11/2010, Soldier’s mother in suspense over benefits claim]

20 and her coat and purse

Posted on
She walked out of the home she shared with her boyfriend
some time after midnight.
She had battled depression for a number of years,
had taken a turn for the worse
after receiving a letter
telling her she had to be assessed
to see if she was fit
to return to work.
Her mobile phone
was found discarded
on a bench in the park.
And her coat and purse
in the river.

[Chronicle Live, 26/02/2013, Body found in River Wear is Leanne Chambers]

21 his job prospects

Posted on
Her husband
a former painter and decorator
is bed-ridden
registered blind
with severe dementia.
She and a team of carers look after him
24 hours a day.
Doctors told him
his condition is terminal.
He was sent a letter offering an interview
to talk about his job prospects.

[Scottish Sun (via the Internet Archive), 20/01/2012, Wife blasts ‘get a job’ letter]

22 with nowhere to go

Posted on
When she returned to their flat
she found a note:
‘Don’t come into the bathroom.’
Her husband was 44,
a former helicopter pilot.
They met while travelling in South Africa
eventually settled in London.
She got a job but was made redundant.
He
constantly struggled to find work,
was unable to complete training
as an electrician;
the Jobcentre would not continue to pay his benefit
because the training
stopped him from being available
for job interviews.
He tried to commit suicide for the first time
by crushing 150 tranquiliser pills
which he swallowed with whisky.
He was found
still alive
by his wife.
The suicide bid
was so she and their son
could benefit from a life insurance policy.
Later
they received a letter from the Council
saying
their housing benefit would decrease
by 30 pounds a week
forcing them to move
with nowhere to go.
He was found
dead
in the bath
by his wife,
with three stab wounds
to his chest and abdomen.
A diagram showing the position of the heart
had been mounted on one wall
and three kitchen knives
were on a folding table
next to the bath.
Suicide notes
addressed to his family
and the police
had been placed on the bed
along with more anatomical diagrams.
But his wife had already cancelled the policy.

[Sutton & Croydon Guardian, 25/08/2011, Southfields dad committed suicide after housing benefit cut; Court News UK (via the Internet Archive), undated (archive dated 14/03/2016), Father killed himself after benefits cut]

23 ‘a pleasant lady to assess’

Posted on
She weighed around 5 stone
6 pounds
(34 point 4 kilos)
and was being fed by a drip.
A history of illness:
Crohn’s disease,
osteoporosis,
suffered a stroke
in 2005.
A physical assessment
described her as having
a ‘slim build’;
‘a pleasant lady to assess.’
After,
she was told her support would be stopped
and that the Department
would try to recoup
a prior overpayment.
Then she received a new diagnosis:
lung cancer;
terminal.
She submitted a form
from her doctor
to the Department.
A letter came back
a month later
to say
that the information on the form
required her to start a fresh claim.
She died the same day.

[BBC News, 08/11/2021, Hundreds of people die fighting for terminal illness benefits]

29 on the appointed day

Posted on
The first time he discovered he was in trouble was when a letter arrived
from the Department.
It was headed Fraud Investigation Section.
An investigator was going to call at his home
to interview him.
Diabetic neuropathy;
he had been unable to walk without discomfort
for over a decade.
He had been claiming benefit.
His wife had taken a part-time job
despite her own disabilities
to supplement their meagre income.
He had phoned the Department,
was told his wife’s new job
had been noted on his records.
It was more than two years later
that the fateful letter came.
The investigator arrived
on the appointed day.
The interview was carried out under caution.
He was stunned to discover
his wife’s job
was the reason for the visit.
The Department claimed
no knowledge of her job;
when he said he had informed the Department,
he was told point blank
he was lying.
His solicitor advised him:
it would be his word
against the Department’s.
Best thing to do:
plead guilty.
‘What happened to innocent
until proven guilty?’ he asked.
The solicitor
shook his head.
On the day of his court appearance
he was handed down
community punishment:
160 hours.

[Morning Star, 26/07/2011, Who are the real benefit cheats?]

33 the most frugal existence

Posted on
He suffered
countless attacks
throughout his life;
he would fall
like a tree
to the ground.
He suffered
from meningitis
at five months old.
It left him brain damaged;
severe epilepsy.
He had his first attack when he was six.
Despite heavy medication
he was taken to hospital regularly.
He worked until he was 30,
but his condition was so severe
he had to leave.
He did not know when a fit would come.
Completely random.
He never went ten days without one.
He had suffered
a broken nose
cheekbone
jaw.
He had lost his front teeth.
He had split his head open
after hitting the pavement
during attacks.
He received a letter in March.
He had to attend a
‘work related activity group’
or his benefits could be cut.
He appealed:
‘I have never
been able to work
due to my epilepsy.
I had a job
but I lost my job
because they could no longer cope
with my attacks.’
The next letter, in June, informed him
his appeal had been rejected.
His family struggled to gain
detailed medical records
of his hospital visits
to make a second appeal.
He was given a month to get the information.
He became more and more worried.
On the day
his parents went round
for him to sign the appeal letter.
He had saved up enough to buy his own home.
His family helped him
make it safe,
a specially made bed, cushions
scattered to break any falls,
child-safe furniture.
With the help of benefits
he lived an independent life.
The door was open.
The curtains were closed.
He had been alone for 19 years.
He did not drink, smoke,
had the most frugal existence.
He did gardening,
wood work,
love bird watching, photography,
walking.
His parents went into the house
and found him
hanging in his bedroom.

[Daily Mirror, 23/09/2014, Man with brain damage and ‘uncontrolled’ epilepsy hanged himself when DWP threatened to cut benefits]

36 she was. she had

Posted on
She was volunteering.
She had a good social network.
She was getting married.
She was notified by letter:
she had scored zero points in her assesment
on the ninth of December.
A welfare rights officer informed her
her benefits would be reduced.
She became upset. She did not know how
she was going to pay her mortgage.
She took an overdose on New Year’s Eve.

[BBC News, 26/03/2014, Benefits assessment led to woman’s suicide says watchdog]

37 blind in one eye, barely able

Posted on
On Boxing Day
a stroke
caused a blood clot on his brain.
He was left
paralysed down his left side, unable
to speak properly,
blind in one eye, barely able
to eat
or dress.
He used a mobility scooter.
Panic alarm
around his neck
in case he fell.
He was summoned
to a work capability assessment.
The stress
caused him to have
another stroke
days before the appointment,
but he was still determined to attend.
A month later, he received a letter
telling him he would lose his benefits.
His health went
rapidly
downhill.
Constant worry;
how would he survive?
Days after his benefits were stopped
he collapsed
in the street
near his home
and died.

[Daily Record, 10/12/2012, Atos benefits bullies killed my sick dad, says devastated Kieran, 13]

39 starting from zero again

Posted on
A note was discovered on his computer
by his parents,
detailing exactly
how and when
he planned
to take his own life.
He was 28,
autistic,
diagnosed with depression.
The Department ordered him
to attend a work capability assessment.
He refused.
The Department decided
to terminate his benefits,
his only source of income.
Six years ago
he told his social workers
he did not wish to have contact
with his family.
His parents had battled to see him since
but were forbidden from knowing
where he lived.
He had previously gone
voluntarily
to the acute inpatient mental health unit
in the town where he lived
after being told about the assessment.
He was reluctant to ask for help again.
‘If I am accepted,
I will have to stay up to 28 days
or six months
in a boring and cramped environment
surrounded
by very damaged people. After which
it will be determined
that I no longer need treatment
and will be allowed to leave.
I will likely be homeless,
starting from zero again,
and the vicious cycle
will begin anew.’
Social services closed his case
after he failed to respond to letters.
The note revealed
he made three separate attempts
to hang himself
between 2016 and 2018.
He wrote:
‘Each time I failed with panic.’
He wrote:
‘I cannot be bothered to fight this
any more. I am
out of energy. I only exist
to do what I want to do.
Dealing with paperwork,
making phone calls, feeling
anxious
every day
about whether I am going to be homeless
are things I do not want to do.’
His body was discovered
in an advanced state of decomposition
nine months later
when housing association officials
called to evict.

[Milton Keynes Citizen, 16/09/2019, Autistic Milton Keynes man left suicide note on computer explaining tragic reasons he took his own life; Milton Keynes Citizen, 02/12/2020, ‘Our son’s tragic loss of life could have been avoided’, say parents of autistic Milton Keynes man whose death went unnoticed for nine months]

41 a second, unopened letter

Posted on
She received a letter
from the Department
saying she should go back to work.
She suffered chronic breathlessness,
pulmonary disease,
depression;
she was a recovering methadone addict.
The letter also told her
her incapacity benefit
would be stopped.
She was so distressed
she took a cocktail of drugs.
She recovered
after treatment in hospital.
She regretted trying to take her own life
and vowed to fight the decision.
She died two days later.
A suicide note had been left in a sealed envelope
some medication was around the floor.
A post-mortem examination revealed
she only had a small amount of drugs in her system –
mostly from the suicide attempt
two days previously.
The coroner was satisfied
that she died
of natural causes.
After her body was found
a second, unopened letter
was also discovered
indicating she would not
lose her benefit after all.

[Evening Standard, 14/08/2013, Suicide bid of woman who feared losing her incapacity benefit]

49 there were complications

Posted on
She had her first transplant
heart and lungs
in 1985.
She returned to her council office job. But
her body began to reject her new organs;
she had another transplant in 1989.
There were complications.
31 hours of surgery.
80 pints of blood.
Afterwards
she had no stamina.
Listless, falling
asleep, fainting.
She collapsed regularly.
Blackouts. In
and out of hospital.
2013.
Her assessent was at a test centre
eight miles from her home. Twenty minutes
answering questions. Her husband, who drove her,
was not allowed in to support her.
She was judged fit for work.
She typed her appeal
on an iPad
as she lay in hospital
with a chest infection
crying.
Criteria for ability to work include
‘You can understand simple messages
from a stranger’
and
‘You can use a keyboad or mouse
and a pen or pencil
with at least one hand.’
The Department wrote to her
two months later.
Six days later
her husband was called to the hospital.
Two days after that
they put her on palliative care.
The letter said:
‘We have decided you are not entitled to support.
You have been found to be capable of work.’
Her husband sat with her all night.
The next morning
her breathing changed.
It took half an hour
for her to die
drowned in her own body fluids.

[Daily Mirror, 26/05/2013, Linda Wootton: Double heart and lung transplant dies nine days after she has benefits stopped]

50 you probably won’t have heard

Posted on
You probably won’t have heard much about the case.
A 33-year-old woman in the West Country
living with her parents.
She very poorly:
bipolar disorder;
she has been sectioned on numerous occasions
after harming herself.
In February she received a letter
from the outsourcing company
which told her she was about to lose her support
and would have to undergo an assessment.
She was found by her mother
and taken to hospital.
She’d slashed her throat in the bath.
Her psychiatric nurse
and a forensic psychologist contacted
the company, and told them
not to contact her directly again.
The company agreed.
The morning after she was released from hospital
she returned home
to find another letter.
She was readmitted to hospital
having slashed her throat again.
Her mother contacted a local benefit advice charity.
They managed to restore her benefits
without the need for further tribunals.
Last week,
another letter.
The charity again took up her case.
The company told them the letter
was computer-generated
and could not be stopped.

[New Statesman, 05/03/2013, The tragedy of Alice]

52 available to help

Posted on
He received a letter last month;
the Jobcentre – an appointment.
 
It read:
‘You and your personal adviser
will discuss the possibility
of going into paid work,
training for work,
or looking for work
in the future.
They will tell you about the support
available to help
with going back to work,
and make sure you have all the information
to help you make decisions that
are right for you
about work.’
His wife
called the Jobcentre to explain.
Sixteen years ago
he was diagnosed
with progressive
multiple
schlerosis.
He cannot walk,
talk,
or feed himself.
He communicates by blinking.
They told her
if getting to the Jobcentre was difficult
they could organise
a telephone interview
but if he did not attend
his benefits would be stopped.

[The Guardian, 22/06/2015, Man who cannot walk or talk called for jobcentre ‘back to work’ interview]

54 the old system

Posted on
During the 1960s
while pregnant with her
her mother took thalidomide.
She is blind in one eye,
partially deaf,
can barely walk,
barely dress herself.
She has arthritis.
In 2004 she underwent surgery
to remove a brain tumour.
She retired from her job
as a care assistant.
She was to undergo spinal surgery
late in 2013.
‘It is because of the way I have had
to manipulate my body over the years
to try and live a normal life.
Because we have to use our bodies
in different ways
what anyone else finds normal
has killed us.’
She and her late husband
were believed to be
the first thalidomide victims in Britain
to get married.
(Her carer
helps her make tea
and brushes her hair.)
In July 2012
she received a letter
saying she must go
on a training course.
Her family appealed
and the decision was overturned.
Then
in October
she was told
once again
she should not
be claiming benefits
as she could not prove
she was unfit to work.
A further appeal was rejected.
A spokesman for the Department said
‘The old system
condemned too many people
to a life on benefits
with little hope
of moving back to work.
Now
people who can work
will be given help
to find a job
while those who need unconditional support
will get it.’
She was served with court papers
and must attend a tribunal
where she will have to prove
her disabilities to a judge.

[Daily Star, 16/03/2013, Benefits hell for Thalidomide patient; Daily Mail, 15/03/2013, Blind in one eye, partially deaf and facing major spinal surgery but Thalidomide mother is still found fit to work; The Independent, 15/03/2013, Capable of ‘work-related activity’: Partially blind Thalidomide victim with brain tumour fights Atos decision to force her to attend interviews and put together CV]

55 not compatible

Posted on
After a half-hour interview at his home
he was assessed as capable to return to work.
 
He was very distressed.
(Rising rent arrears,
warnings from the electricity company.)
He was reluctant to ask relatives for help;
they were unaware his benefits had been removed.
Concerned about his patient’s condition,
his doctor wrote a letter
in support of his application:
‘extremely unwell
and absolutely unfit
for any work
whatsoever.
Please do not stop
or reduce his benefits.
He simply is not well enough to cope
with this extra stress.
His mental and medical condition
is extremely serious.’
It is not clear whether the letter
reached the Jobcentre.
He was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome
and obsessive compulsive disorder
in his late 20s.
He had an eating disorder
and cognitive behavioural problems.
He was sacked from his first job
because he was unable to follow instructions.
The Department’s assessment concluded
his mental state
was normal.
This triggered a decision
by the jobcentre
to stop his sickness benefits.
His housing benefits were stopped around the same time.
He was not told.
He struggled to survive
on his disability allowance.
Forty pounds a week
to live on.
His sister said
‘He would have wanted to be seen as normal.
He was desperate to get by
as normal.’
A body mass index
of between eighteen point five
and twenty-four point nine
is considered healthy
for a man.
Between April and August his
dropped
from fourteen point one
to eleven point five;
he weighed five stone eight pounds
(thirty-five kilos)
when he died.
The doctor told the inquest
his body mass index
was not compatible
with life.

The Guardian, 28/02/2014, Vulnerable man starved to death after benefits were cut]