Two-thousand terminally ill benefit claimants died waiting for government review, says charity
This is an absolute tragedy and exacerbated by the fact that (as demonstrated by Joseph Rowntree Foundation) it already costs more for people to live in rural settings. This story tells us:
Almost 2,000 terminally ill people struggling to claim benefits in Britain have died while waiting for a review promised by the government, a charity estimates.
The government promised to review the benefits system for terminally ill people last July after charities said it was not fit for purpose in a damning parliamentary report.
Marie Curie based its estimate on data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which the charity said shows an average of 10 people a day died while waiting for a decision on their personal independence payment (PIP) claim over a five-year period.
Then work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd said claimants near the end of their lives deserved “a fresh and honest evaluation” of the system.
She said no one should be suffering “unnecessary hardship” after charities told MPs the struggle to access benefits was making people’s lives a “total misery”.