A report undertaken by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that ministers have investigated 69 suicides of benefit claimants since 2014‑15, of which 21 – nearly a third – were completed between April and November last year.
It states that it was "highly unlikely’ that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigates all such cases, and that ministers had no idea whether lessons from the reviews were ever implemented.
The report, was carried out after the DWP admitted it did not record the number of benefit claimants who have ended their life by suicide. The true number of self-inflicted deaths by benefit claimants is unknown, and could be higher than the figures quoted in the NAO report.
Stephen said the NAO’s findings exposed “significant weaknesses” in the way the DWP learnt lessons from suicides among people it serves.
He added: “The NAO’s finding that it is ‘highly unlikely’ that DWP investigates all such cases is cause for serious concern. Even where it does try to learn lessons, it doesn’t check to see whether recommendations from its own investigations have been put in place, or if there are any trends or systemic issues that could be identified.”