During the COVID-19 situation, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) softened its approach to claimants with awards extensions and paper-based reviews becoming common.
This followed a relatively more progressive direction being taken even before then with increased instances of standard processes being adjusted where people couldn’t cope with them. For example, we have had over 20 cases where medical evidence showed the claimant could not deal with personal assessment and so a paper-based review was carried out instead.
This can be a matter of life and death as in some extreme cases claimants have died where they have been unable to cope with the DWP’s benefits reassessment processes. For example: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/vigil-held-errol-graham-who-3816299 .
It is therefore concerning that the DWP has been reported as not yet signing an agreement to prevent further benefits deaths.
KDR supports disabled social security claimants to get through the assessment processes and tribunal system ensuring reasonable adjustments are made.