The Work and Pensions Committee will question Sir Stephen Timms on the DWP’s safeguarding practices, a year after the Committee demanded a joined-up approach to safeguarding following the deaths and serious harm of vulnerable people under the Department’s care.
","secondaryDescription":"The Work and Pensions Committee will question Sir Stephen Timms on the DWP’s safeguarding practices, a year after the Committee demanded a joined-up approach to safeguarding following the deaths and serious harm of vulnerable people under the Department’s care.
\r\nThe evidence session – a follow-up to the committee’s Safeguarding Vulnerable Claimants report, published in 2025, is likely to cover:
\r\nThe committee’s 2025 report called for “deep-rooted cultural change” and that consideration of the impacts on vulnerable people be put at the heart of policy-making to avoid a repeat of tragic and avoidable deaths, like those of Errol Graham, Philippa Day and Jodey Whiting. The committee recommended the DWP improve the transparency of processes it used to learn from serious mistakes, including Internal Process Reviews, as one step towards bridging trust with claimants.
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There have been more than 300 Internal Process Reviews of cases of death or serious harm among claimants since 2020, but the true scale is likely to be higher.
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