| answer text |
<p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has recorded <ins class="ministerial">22
</ins><del class="ministerial">24</del> contacts related to possible suicides via
its Coroner focal point since 2016.</p><p> </p><p>Coroners determine the cause of
death, including whether it is by suicide. Coroners do not routinely inform the department
when they return a conclusion of suicide in a case where the deceased person was claiming
benefits. There is no requirement for them to do so, unless they have named it as
an Interested Person at that inquest, or they decide to send it a Prevention of Future
Deaths report.</p><p> </p><p>DWP becomes aware of the majority of deaths through the
Tell Us Once (TUO) service. It is offered by all 391 councils across England, Scotland
and Wales on behalf of DWP. This service lets citizens report a death to most government
organisations in one go. Once verified, the Customer Information System (CIS), a cross-government
system, is updated and DWP will take the appropriate action on a case.</p><p> </p><p>However,
this service does not notify DWP of the cause or circumstances of a death, and DWP
has no legitimate business reason to obtain or record this information.</p>
|
|
