Recommendation 1

HM Government Not Addressed

Health assessments for benefits 5 IPRs are not conducted to investigate a customer’s death, but provide an internal, high- quality investigation to ensure the Department continuously learns from where the customer experience has fallen short of expected standards. The Department is not always made aware of the reason for a customer’s death or serious harm, there is no public record of these, and the Department does not conduct IPRs in all cases where DWP customers have died. Where cases are referred for an IPR, these will be conducted where: • There is a suggestion or allegation that the Department’s actions or omissions may have negatively contributed to the customer’s circumstances, and a customer has suffered serious harm, has died (including by suicide) or where the Department has reason to believe there has been an attempted suicide: or • The Department is asked to participate in a Safeguarding Adults Review or is named as an Interested Person at an Inquest, regardless of whether there is an allegation against the Department. Since the National Audit Office’s report, the Department has collected data on all cases referred for an IPR, and has published details on the numbers of IPRs and provided a breakdown between death and serious harm in response to both Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests on several occasions. It is also intending to include data in relation to IPRs in this year’s Annual Report and Accounts. Additionally, the Department is also considering its options and the potential for publishing IPR data more frequently in the future. The Department is also working closely with assessment providers to look at interactions, feedback and learning from IPR cases. The Department has met and explored what information it can provide from the outset of IPRs being commissioned, as well as how feedback and learning can be supplied to providers following the outcomes of IPRs. Where this is in relation to an individual customer this is taken forward with the individual provider, and additionally, the Department has introduced quarterly meetings to bring together representatives from all providers. Within these meetings cases are discussed more widely to provide a broader understanding of IPR cases that have involved providers and to increase understanding of issues identified and work taken forward across the Department to support vulnerable customers. The Department is also very keen to engage with stakeholders, including from mental health charities and other organisations, to continue to make improvements to services for its customers. It recently met with Rethink, a mental health charity who were representing the families of some benefit claimants who have passed away, and the Department intends to organise further meetings.