Killed by benefits cuts: Starving soldier

[CFSKate]

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/killed-benefits-cuts-starving-soldier-3923771

Diabetic David Clapson, 59, died with just £3.44 left in his account after his Jobseeker’s Allowance was axed because he missed an appointment

David once faced death on a daily basis as he served his country loyally in the terror hell of Northern Ireland.

And when he left the Army he went straight into the ­workplace with BT before becoming a full-time carer for his sick mother.

After she went into a home, diabetic David turned to the state for help while he looked for work.

But under the Coalition’s callous new benefits rules he had his £71.70 a week Jobseeker’s Allowance axed – merely because he missed an appointment with an adviser.

Stripped of his income, the 59-year-old could not afford food or electricity and died starving, ­penniless and alone at his home.

His death was from diabetic ­ketoacidosis – caused by not taking his insulin.

When David died he had just £3.44 to his name, six tea bags, a tin of soup and an out-of-date can of sardines. His electricity card was out of credit meaning the fridge where he should have kept his insulin chilled was not working.

A coroner also found he had no food in his stomach.

A pile of CVs for job applications were found near David’s body.

This is what sanctions mean.

This is the only thing sanctions can really mean.

Removing someone's subsistence is not taking their toy away till home time, or sitting them on the naughty step. It's taking away what's keeping them alive.

And then they won't be alive.

Lots of people will scrabble around it and survive for a while. But lots of people won't. It only takes a crossover like this with diabetes, or with mental health, or with other vulnerabilities, and people die. There was a man with autism found starved to death recently as well.

I feel sick.

Fucking awful way to treat fellow human beings.

RIP David - Ex Soldiers have always been let down by this country - even after WW1 and WW2 brave young men suffered terribly and were neglected - Why is this still happening in the 21st century ffs and the amount of wealth in this country.

The bloody Royal Family need to pick a Palace and all live in it - that would free up either Buckingham, Kensington, St James', Hampton Court......etc to give homes to ex soldiers - They deserve to live there more than that bloody lot

Bloody hell

That is truly appalling.

However many times it's claimed that there are no targets for sanctions I simply don't believe it.

Reading through the article, it appears the poor man slipped through the system and having slipped up on the forms was too proud to ask various charities to help, or indeed his pictured sister, especially having previously helped the family caring for their mother.

“Labour will be tougher than Tories on benefits, promises new welfare chief”

“Rachel Reeves vows to cut welfare bill and force long-term jobless to take up work offers or lose state support”
www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/12/labour-benefits-tories-labour-rachel-reeves-welfare

Didn’t Rachel appear on one of the last Sunday Politics programmes only 3-4 weeks ago saying it was scandalous the Welfare etc bill had gone UP £15 billion(?) under the Coalition and Labour would have been tougher?

It appears the Welfare bill has been slashed at every PMQT, but the truth comes out closer to the general Election?

What a shame such tragic cases are taken over by the Daily Mirror for political reasons, in order to attack the welfare reforms Labour say they would have got around to, during THIS parliament.

I'm a bit confused as to why you always think our criticism of your beloved tory party is an endorsement if the labour party.

Also that you make no condemnation of what the Tory party have done while criticising what the labour party might do.

You also claim that he slipped through the system then talk about labour being tougher. Is it about being tough it its it about slipping through the system? One or other not both.

Maybe the welfare has cost more because of swingeing cuts leading to more unemployment and underemployment. Maybe their shitty attempts at cutting welfare was a false economy.

I'm a bit confused as to why you always think our criticism of your beloved tory party is an endorsement if the labour party.

Also that you make no condemnation of what the Tory party have done while criticising what the labour party might do.

You also claim that he slipped through the system then talk about labour being tougher. Is it about being tough it its it about slipping through the system? One or other not both.

Maybe the welfare has cost more because of swingeing cuts leading to more unemployment and underemployment. Maybe their shitty attempts at cutting welfare was a false economy.

Without money people can not buy food, so they staver or steal and go to an already over crowed prison but at least they are feed.

There will be homeless people on the street, children starving and more crime.

We have a welfare system or we dont, right now we dont otherise this man and meny more would not have to die.

Its shameful people are fine with mps spending billions on expencies, royal family, aid abroud but happy to sit back and watch their nbn die.

This is very unfair and so sad for this poor man :(

Benefits should not be cut like this for anyone but most especially for people with health issues like this.

And why on earth don't families look out for other members of their own these days (assuming there is no falling out)? Whilst I know they shouldn't have to...when I was really struggling, my Brother and my Parents fed me and my Dc's up to 4 times a week between them. I wouldn't see anyone I know go hungry if I could help them.

How awful :(

So sad. This isn't just about politicians, it's also the responsibility of the managers and staff at jobcentres who are willing to implement the policies.

Absolutely sickening!

Whilst billions are lost in big business tax the state are endorsing that a benefit claimant should live on NOTHING but thin air because he made a mistake.

Shower of cunts.

Did he not have an army pension? Horrible situation, poor man

I've googled, and found only 3 articles about the Inquest, and none from the time of his death.

DWP told the Inquest he would have been eligible for hardship payments, even in current climate, but he did not apply for any. He did not disclose any factors about additional vulnerability (health etc) to officials. Nor did he tell his family or, it seems, anyone else. The DWP also said he was sanctioned only after repeated breaches.

There is no word on length of Army career (only the 2 years in NI), so it is not possible to guess size of military pension or when it would start paying out. It does make him elegise for assistance from several military benevolent funds (RBL, SSAFA, ABF, regimental funds, probably more) He also worked for 16 years for BT which makes him eligible for help from their Benevolent Fund.

His sister says she was in regular contact with him, but had no idea he was in difficulties.

It is terrible that this man died. But I am not sure, looking at more factors involved, what else could have been done by his family or by officials. If someone does not tell anyone the factors which make them additionally vulnerable, then they cannot be taken not account.

Used to work in benefits. Partner still does

Claimants are being sanctioned for the most ridiculous reasons. No common sense approach anymore. Normal oversights are being sanctioned whilst the
Long term won't work mentality STILL aren't being tackled.

They are the ones who kick up and the jobcentres are too scared to deal with them. They used to send them to the benefits agency but since they closed and the jobcentres, who didn't strike to retain full screened offices now have to deal with them.

The hardship claims have got harder to get with longer waiting periods.

Jobcentres staff are under pressure and aren't trained to deal with situations empathetically. They hear distress and just try and get people out if offices thinking someone else will pick up the slack- except they don't. Social fund has been dismantled, social services adult services thresholds are high.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more deaths to be honest. Thank goodness for food banks and charitable organisations.

The jobcentres are incrediablly obstructive about applying for hardship. Ive done it on behalf on service users I was working with. Appointments in weeks times, processing takes ages. I used to do the hardship appts process and give decision within 24 he's. It really isn't that difficult - except now it by has to go through a long winded process which just leaves more people in need

Another inflammatory post.

The guy died of a complication of his diabetes, he wasn't killed by anyone and surely his well being should have concerned his family before the authorities and if they didn't pick up on it how were the authorities to know?

Yes. We create an obstacle course harder and harder to jump through.

And then when people fail to get all the way through it, we point and say "But it's their fault for not completing the course."

We have a universal system whose only purpose is to support people like this man; to ensure no one falls through the cracks. Which withdraws that support.

And then we complain that he didn't work his way competently through all the disparate, fragmented, unreliable possibilities of charities and funds and backdoors to the DWP.

If he'd missed multiple appointments, there may well have been something else going on (eg MH), making him even LESS likely to be able to leap all the obstacles.

What more could have been done by officials?

Not sanction him.

Inform him that he might be eligible for hardship payments.
Ask him if he had additional vulnerabilities (would the DWP even count diabetes as that? I doubt it).

How were the authorities to know?

They were the ones who stopped his subsistence income.

That's usually a pretty big clue that someone may struggle to feed themselves.

The thing is sanctions don't just take your money, they take your pride, any sense of self worth any sense of self respect.

To go and beg, beg for hardship, beg for food bank assistance, beg for scraps, it takes everything from you.

You can't call them unless you have money. You can't visit them unless you have money or haul your hungry arse down there and manage to get past security without an appointment.

They take everything.

Cameron's lunch is probably more than a weeks worth of benefits. Why why why aren't people taking to the streets.

Is it possible the man just 'took it on the chin' dont complain, dont make a fuss, do the right thing, stiff upper lip'.

The money is being stopped and the jobcentre does not know all the facts in every case. Some of these people just cant speek up. They dont know the questions to ask or what to do. Thats why they are so dangerous.

There was a thread a couple of months ago by a MNer trying to help a friend with multiple sclerosis, who'd been sanctioned or fallen in the too-sick-for-JSA-not-sick-enough-for-ESA gap.

It was the second or third time it had happened, and he didn't like to keep begging from friends, who anyway couldn't support him for weeks on end.

He killed himself.