Tory minister chose Capita director to carry out secret review of DWP deaths
A Conservative peer was commissioned to examine how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) dealt with reports of claimant suicides linked to DWP, even though she was a director of a company closely connected to one of those deaths.
Baroness [Lucy] Neville-Rolfe is a former civil servant and member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit under John Major, and at the time was a non-executive director of Capita.
She was commissioned in February 2020 to produce the report by Therese Coffey, who was work and pensions secretary at the time.
She was asked to examine “whether DWP manages complaints in a consistent and efficient way and whether the department is learning systematic lessons when things go wrong”, although she was not paid for her work.
Her Complaints, Suicides and Other Matters report, completed in September 2020, said it had been made clear by Coffey that “a primary focus of concern was suicides among benefit claimants”.
Disability News Service (DNS) has only been able to obtain the report following pressure from the Information Commissioner’s Office, after DWP’s freedom of information team initially refused to even acknowledge a request to see the document (see separate story).
Just four months before Coffey commissioned Baroness Neville-Rolfe to write the report, Capita and DWP had been told of the death of Philippa Day, who had taken her own life after months of failings by both organisations in dealing with her personal independence payment (PIP) claim.
A coroner uncovered multiple failings by Capita and DWP in the 11 months leading up to her death.
A safeguarding review later found the actions of Capita had had a “profound impact” on the 27-year-old and caused her “debilitating anxiety”.
Capita has also been closely associated with other deaths and harm caused to claimants, and other safeguarding concerns, since it was first contracted by DWP to carry out PIP assessments in 2013.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s report concluded that the “cases of suicide are very small in number given the scale of DWP”, even though DWP figures showed the department began 43 secret internal process reviews (IPRs) into suicides and other deaths linked to its actions between July 2019 and June 2020.
Although these will not all have been suicides, it is widely accepted that DWP only carries out IPRs into a small proportion of suicides to which its actions and failings may have contributed.
Neither Capita nor DWP had commented by noon today (Thursday) on the decision to commission Baroness Neville-Rolfe.
But Coffey – now Baroness Coffey – told Disability News Service (DNS) yesterday (Wednesday) that Baroness Neville-Rolfe had declared her interest in Capita, and that she believed her fellow peer had been an appropriate person to carry out the review, despite her directorship.
She said in a statement to DNS that she “knew she was a non-executive director of Capita.
“I appointed Baroness Neville-Rolfe because of her vast experience, particularly as an executive director at Tesco though having worked in the Civil Service previously was an added dimension.
“I had also interacted with Baroness Neville-Rolfe when we were both ministers.
“She was an obvious person for me to consider asking to do a focused review on an area I wanted to consider in depth. I’m very grateful she did.”
She added: “Her report was helpful in shaping improvements to customer service.
“It reinforced some of my own perspective on how to better get systemic learning on issues, particularly serious ones.”
Baroness Neville-Rolfe told DNS on Tuesday that her non-executive directorship of Capita “was on the public record and in my parliamentary register of interests”.
She said she had not informed Capita about the project.
She declined to say if she believed she had been an appropriate person to carry out the review when she was at the time a director of Capita, which had been linked with so many safeguarding concerns, and the recent death of Philippa Day.
But she said in a statement: “I thought it was sensible of secretary of state Coffey to seek to draw on outside expertise when faced with a problem.
“It was my understanding that in asking me to take on this work she was mainly influenced by my past experience at Tesco – it being a company experienced in dealing with consumer complaints.
“She may also have been aware that I had been company secretary at Tesco and chaired their compliance committee and could contribute on the best form of governance in relation to problematic matters.
“My non-executive directorship of Capita was on the public record and in my parliamentary register of interests.
“I judged that it was not necessary to register this unpaid exercise as an interest with Capita.
“It was not relevant to my task which was to draw on my experience, primarily at Tesco, to help the secretary of state to judge how her department was performing in matters related to her concerns and how to improve matters.
“I stand by the contents of my report and its recommendations for improvement as giving an informed view at the time.”
The Department: How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence, DNS editor John Pring’s book on the years of deaths linked to DWP’s actions and failings, is published by Pluto Press
7 August 2025
Tory peer wrote secret report calling for DWP to reduce suicides and other ‘very bad cases’
A secret report written by a Conservative peer called for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to reduce the number of suicides of benefit claimants and other “very bad cases” linked to the department’s actions.
The Complaints, Suicides and Other Matters report was commissioned in February 2020 by Tory work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey, who made it clear at the time that its findings would never be published.
It is believed to be the first time any DWP report has produced such a clear conclusion that too many claimants were dying due to the department’s actions and failings, although it also concluded that the “cases of suicide are very small in number given the scale of DWP”.
It reached this conclusion despite DWP figures showing the department began 43 internal process reviews into suicides and other deaths linked to DWP between July 2019 and June 2020.
Although these will not all have been suicides, it is widely accepted outside DWP that the department only carries out IPRs into a small proportion of the suicides in which its actions and failings have played a part.
The report was written by Conservative peer Baroness [Lucy] Neville-Rolfe, a former civil servant, a member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit under John Major, and a former non-executive director of Tesco.
But at the time of writing the report, she was also a director of DWP contractor Capita, which has been linked with the deaths of disabled claimants including Philippa Day, and numerous other safeguarding concerns (see separate story).
Disability News Service (DNS) has only been able to obtain the report following pressure from the Information Commissioner’s Office, after DWP’s freedom of information team initially refused to even acknowledge a request to see the document.
The report – which is just nine pages long – concluded that “with robust, simple systems and well-trained staff many, perhaps most, possible difficulties can be avoided” when it comes to suicides and other “bad cases”.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe said the department needed to keep track of its progress in “reducing the number of very bad cases” and develop “a culture of learning from mistakes”.
The report also made it clear that ministers and senior civil servants accepted that the department needed to improve its procedures, stating: “We are confident that the wish for improvement has strong support at ministerial and top official level.”
Baroness Neville-Rolfe was asked to examine “whether DWP manages complaints in a consistent and efficient way and whether the department is learning systematic lessons when things go wrong”.
Her report added: “It was made clear that a primary focus of concern was suicides among benefit claimants.”
The completion of the report was initially delayed because of the pandemic, and Baroness Neville-Rolfe appears to have spent between 10 and 15 days’ unpaid work on her “quick dive” investigation, before sending the results to Coffey in September 2020.
She concluded that there was “no quick fix”, but it is not yet clear how many of her recommendations were accepted by ministers, and what impact they have had.
Coffey commissioned the report just a month after DNS had revealed how Errol Graham, from Nottingham, had starved to death in 2018 after DWP wrongly stopped his out-of-work disability benefits, leaving him without any income.
It also followed a report by the National Audit Office in early February 2020, which found DWP had carried out secret internal process reviews (IPRs) into 69 suicides of benefit claimants since April 2014.
DWP declined to say this week why the report was kept secret, and whether DWP ministers of the new Labour government agreed with Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s conclusion in 2020 that the department needed to reduce the number of “very bad cases” and develop a culture of learning from mistakes.
But a DWP spokesperson said in a statement: “The death by suicide of anyone who has used our services is a tragedy and our thoughts go out to their loved ones.
“We continue to learn from serious cases and improve our services for the millions of people who use them, and since this report was commissioned in 2020 we have implemented systems and improvements to support our most vulnerable customers.
“This includes more effective internal process reviews, better customer support and more co-ordination across the UK.”
The Department: How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence, DNS editor John Pring’s book on the years of deaths linked to DWP’s actions and failings, is published by Pluto Press
7 August 2025
Minister’s comments add fuel to Access to Work concerns
Comments by the disability minister have fuelled concerns that the government is planning changes that will cut the amount of workplace support disabled people can receive through the Access to Work scheme.
There have been months of concerns about the future of the scheme, since Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for social security and disability, told MPs in February that it was “unlikely to be sustainable in the long term” and needed to be “better and more effective”.
The government’s Pathways to Work green paper, released in March, strongly suggested that ministers wanted to cut future spending on the scheme, which is set to increase from £142 million in 2019-20 to £385 million this year.
And in May, leaked information from multiple sources suggested DWP was planning two waves of cost-cutting that would make it harder for disabled people to secure AtW support.
Now Sir Stephen has told the BBC’s Access All podcast that ministers will have to work out “how we can use that funding to support a larger number of people, given that so many people now are coming forward”.
That suggests that, although overall AtW spending might not be cut, the department could be planning to restrict individual packages of support.
Sir Stephen also said that employers have “an existing well understood obligation” to provide reasonable adjustments for their staff, which again suggests that ministers are considering asking employers to contribute more towards workplace adjustments.
Pushed further by Access All’s Emma Tracey, who suggested that many disabled people – such as artist Jess Thom – were having their support cut, or even removed altogether, he said: “I think there are constraints in what Access to Work can provide; maybe sometime previously they haven’t always been applied.
“Perhaps they are now being applied.”
Last month, DWP published research which found that providing extra AtW funding to disabled people with higher support needs had a positive impact on both employees and employers.
DWP declined to say this week if Sir Stephen’s comments suggested average ATW support payments would fall; if existing claimants were having their support cut, with managers toughening their stance on applying existing rules; and if his comments suggested future real-terms cuts to the scheme.
But a DWP spokesperson said: “No changes have been made to Access to Work policy, and we will announce any future changes prior to them being implemented.
“Despite deploying additional staff and streamlining our procedures, the number of Access to Work applications waiting to be processed is continuing to grow.
“That’s why we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve it for the benefit of disabled people and employers.
“We will be reviewing all aspects of the scheme now that the consultation has closed [on 30 June] and will be developing future policy in collaboration with disabled people.”
DWP said it was continuing to work closely on its AtW proposals with stakeholders, particularly disabled people and the organisations that represent them.
7 August 2025
UK’s historic decisions on social care should be ‘ground zero’ for Covid inquiry, say DPOs
The choices made by the UK state on how the social care system is structured mean that the impact of the pandemic in this area should be “ground zero” for the Covid inquiry’s investigations, disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have argued.
Four DPOs told the inquiry that this was because there had been a “terrible inevitability” to the deaths and other harm caused to disabled people who rely on social care.
They pointed to the “shameful” lack of emergency planning there had been, and the “constitutional and economic choices” the UK has made.
Under the current social care system, they said, “disabled people’s lives are absolutely valued less”.
They told the inquiry that the evidence it had heard clearly showed that “central and local government’s incapacity to collect and deploy data concerning the needs of its people in an emergency is a fundamental problem.
“There was ignorance of what services a person receives, from whom, and whether those services are provided, and if not, why not.”
They said the inquiry could highlight in its conclusions the “human cost to disabled people’s visibility” that arises from not having the “integrated data system that health and social care needs”, and how to make the system “effective, national, and trusted by the people that it is foremost there to serve”.
They said DPOs should be funded to work at the design stage of such a system.
Disability Rights UK (DR UK), Disability Action Northern Ireland, Disability Wales and Inclusion Scotland have together been granted “core participant status” in module six of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the impact of the pandemic on the adult social care sector across the UK.
Their barrister, Danny Friedman KC, who delivered their closing statement of module six, said governments should never have allowed the shutting down of “on-site, face-to-face regulator inspections” of care settings during the pandemic.
Family and other visitors were “mostly blanket-excluded”, death certificates were completed by non-attending physicians, inquests were unlikely, and regulators were “publicly admitting their lack of capacity and faith” to manage the control of infection prevention.
In each of the four UK nations, he said, the regulators failed in their “principal objective” to “protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of the people who use care services”.
Friedman – who was instructed by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors – told the inquiry that disabled people living independently in the community were “subjected to straightforward abandonment” because of the emergency care laws known as “easements”, which he said “should not have been introduced”.
He said: “With the threshold for entitlement to social care so high and the means to challenge its refusal so limited, no government should have legislated to allow local authorities to cease meeting pre-existing eligible needs.”
The DPOs said it was “frankly ludicrous” to claim that only eight local authorities had taken advantage of these easements, and they said that those authorities that did not declare easements but still failed to meet disabled people’s eligible needs “broke the law”.
They said that disabled people’s worlds were “turned upside down”.
Friedman told the inquiry: “People went without assistance to get meals; were left in bed for days; soiled themselves in wheelchairs; lost home physio or daily contact visits that forever damaged their bodies or neurological development.”
And, he said, there were “blanket approaches” to the use of do not attempt cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) notices that were “flagrantly in violation of existing guidelines”, with notices signed by clinicians added to records without consultation, while there was “literally targeting” of people with learning difficulties.
There were cases where ambulances would refuse to take residents with a DNACPR notice to hospital, and others where care homes would not ask them to do so.
Former Conservative health and social care secretary Matt Hancock had told the inquiry on 2 July that he believed that inappropriate use of DNACPR notices was “one of a number of narrow conspiracy theories that have grown up in this space” and that if it was more widespread than the single occasion he knew about “it didn’t come to my attention, and if it did happen, it’s totally unacceptable”.
Georgia Bondy, who is working with Disability Rights UK to manage its work on the inquiry, said after the 31 July session: “This module has made clear to the inquiry what many disabled people have known for a long time: when weighed in the balance, the government, the care system and the NHS treat disabled people’s survival as mattering less than non-disabled people’s.”
7 August 2025
Government review of law on mobility aids could prove ‘absolutely transformative’
Disabled campaigners have welcomed the government’s announcement that it will review the laws around powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and examine how new mobility technology could be “safely implemented” for disabled people to use.
They believe that better regulations on mobility aids would be “absolutely transformative” for disabled people’s ability to get around.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has yet to launch a public consultation, but its “micromobility” team has told disability organisations that the review will take place and will be co-produced with disabled people.
The disabled people’s organisation Wheels for Wellbeing (WfW) said it was “delighted” with the government’s announcement, and “even more pleased that the review will be co-produced with disabled people”.
The review follows years of lobbying and campaigning by WfW, including “intense work” after the confiscation of Israel Vidal’s wheelchair by the Metropolitan police in May.
He was left without his wheelchair for 19 days because police officers objected to him using a “not in class” powered wheelchair attachment at walking-speed, and impounded both his manual wheelchair and the clip-on powered attachment, treating them as an uninsured motor vehicle.
The law currently says such attachments can only be used legally on roads if they have an MOT certificate, insurance and licence plate, and the user has the appropriate driving licence.
WfW is calling for two urgent new pieces of guidance.
The first would ensure police and other services understand they should never confiscate disabled people’s aids unless it is essential to reduce an immediate danger.
The second would make sure police use discretion when dealing with disabled people using “not in class” mobility aids in public places, so those using their aids in ways that are not dangerous to others can make journeys without fearing police intervention.
It has produced a briefing document that explains the complexity of the law in this area, as well as a longer guide to mobility aids.
WfW also points to the problems confronted by disabled children under 14, who face legal barriers in accessing the electrically-assisted mobility aids they need.
Other disabled people are refused access to public transport, their workplaces, or even the social housing where they live, because they use equipment such as non-folding e-cycles, tricycles, or sometimes even mobility scooters or powerchairs which use modern lithium-ion batteries.
Kate Ball, campaigns and policy lead for WfW, said: “At the moment, outdated regulations mean that far too many disabled people are prevented from getting or from using the mobility aids that work for us, to make the journeys we want and need to make.
“New, co-produced, inclusive and future-proofed mobility aid regulations are an absolutely essential step towards providing disabled people with access to a full range of mobility options, including new and emerging technologies.
“Improved mobility aid options will help enable disabled people to live, work, learn and contribute in the ways that we want to and are able to – and will provide great opportunities for UK businesses and industry as well.”
Ball said that e-scooters could eventually be “incredibly valuable mobility aids” for many disabled people who can balance on two wheels, as they are “cheap, small and lightweight compared to mobility scooters”, and for those living in housing without level access they can be “the only viable mobility option”.
WfW is campaigning for e-assisted and unpowered cycles of all types to be recognised as mobility aids when used by disabled people to assist with or replace walking.
DfT told WfW that its review will look at new technologies “that have created a range of new micromobility vehicles” which present a “significant opportunity to improve disabled people’s independence”.
Current “invalid carriage” regulations are nearly 40 years old and “do not account for the devices people need to use”, so it is also reviewing the laws on powered mobility aids such as electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Its micromobility team said it would work closely on the review with organisations representing disabled people.
As part of the review, there will be an in-depth investigation into the “opportunities and the risks of using new technology safely and responsibly, considering the needs of all disabled people”.
The team told WfW that it was “committed to ensuring this policy is reviewed and designed with disabled people, not for them”.
A DfT spokesperson said: “Those with disabilities should have the freedom to travel like anyone else, which is why we commissioned this review into mobility aids.
“Our consultation will closely examine current laws surrounding powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and look at how new mobility technology for disabled people could be safely implemented in the future.”
7 August 2025
‘Landmark’ decision could lead to better protection of disability benefits
A “landmark” decision has forced a regulator to examine whether credit companies should be allowed to take disability benefits into account when calculating if disabled people can take out risky loans at high interest rates.
The decision (see complaint 202500121) means that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will have to look at how it implements rules affecting the way credit firms, banks and other financial companies operate.
The conclusion by the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner (FRCC) could eventually prove helpful for campaigning disability organisations and have broader implications for consumer protection and financial regulation.
This is because it relates to laws on whether disability benefits must be treated differently than wages because they are intended to cover some of the additional costs associated with disability.
FCA currently takes a relaxed approach to the rules, which means credit companies and others it polices are allowed to treat disability benefits such as the support group element of employment and support allowance, and personal independence payment, as ordinary disposable income.
This approach allows credit companies to offer loans at high interest rates to disabled people under financial pressure, which they are unlikely to be able to afford to pay back, leading them into a deepening spiral of debt and financial hardship.
It also allows companies to seek higher repayments when a disabled person falls into debt.
Paul*, a disabled campaigner with concerns about the protection of disability benefits and the state’s duties toward disabled people, believes these firms are breaching the Equality Act, data protection laws and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This is because – as the law makes clear – disability benefits are intended to meet some of the extra daily costs a disabled person faces and should not be treated as disposable income.
He believes FCA is breaching the same legal obligations by not doing more to protect disabled people when they lodge complaints about the way they are being treated by financial companies.
In a complaint to FCA, Paul called for it to do more to protect disabled consumers and their private information.
When FCA rejected his complaint, he complained to FRCC, which deals with complaints against financial regulators.
Now FRCC has decided that Paul’s complaint was “materially different” than the complaint he made to FCA, and that it raised “new legal arguments”.
FRCC says in its report – issued on 2 July and published today (7 August) – that his complaint “raises potentially serious legal issues relating to the protection of disability benefits”, FCA’s duty to protect “vulnerable consumers”, and FCA’s obligations under the Equality Act and human rights law.
It has now asked FCA to look at Paul’s new complaint, and whether it is failing in its “interpretation, supervision, and enforcement” of its rules, which it has agreed to do.
Paul said it was a “landmark” decision that had “significant implications for the intersection of disability rights, data protection law, and financial services regulation”.
He said the FRCC decision could eventually lead to better protection for disabled consumers, both in how disability benefits are treated in financial assessments, and how financial companies treat disability benefits data.
He told Disability News Service: “The FCA has been allowing financial institutions to operate unimpeded by court rulings.
“The only solution for disabled people has been to pursue a judicial review, an option that is available only to those with adequate resources.
“This effectively creates a two-tier justice system where established legal protections remain theoretical rather than practical for most disabled people, creating a substantial human cost.”
He added: “When protected benefits are treated as disposable income, it creates a harmful cycle.
“Money meant for disability-related costs is diverted elsewhere, leaving essential needs unmet.
“As people repay loans, their resources continuously diminish, deepening financial hardship and limiting future options.”
FCA declined to comment on the concerns raised by Paul in his complaint.
But an FCA spokesperson said: “There was a misunderstanding about what the complaint was about.
“Now that we’re clear what the concern is, we’re happy to look into it.”
*Not his real name
7 August 2025
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week
Private providers of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schooling should have their profits capped to stop “shameless profiteering”, the Liberal Democrats have said. Research commissioned by the party has found some firms make tens of millions of pounds annually, with profit margins exceeding 20 per cent. The party’s education spokesperson Munira Wilson said profits should be capped at eight per cent to stop money meant for children with SEND going “into the pockets of shareholders”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2qye8j0g4o
England’s SEND crisis is spiralling because millions in taxpayers’ money is being “sucked” out of the system by private agencies charging rocketing prices for “superficial” assessments of children’s needs, The i Paper has been told. Professionals working in the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) sector say that reports needed for education, health and care plans have doubled in price in the last year to as much as £1,400 in London, pushing local councils towards bankruptcy: http://archive.ph/L3JKT#selection-1877.0-1893.121
A man who lost his job after two strokes has settled a disability and age discrimination case against his former employer for £100,000. Cliff Donaldson’s speech and movement were affected after the strokes in January 2023, which led to him cutting his working hours and taking a reduced salary. The former property site manager took the case against Fraser Partners after a new, younger site manager was recruited and Donaldson was told his employment would end in September 2023: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3r483jp7r2o
7 August 2025
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
