David Clapson remembered at No Sanctions Day 2016
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| Demonstrators tell DWP, "Cuts kill." Location: DWP Caxton House HQ on No Sanctions Day 2016 |
There
was a day of actions against benefit sanctions on 9th
March 2016. Benefit sanctions are when our benefits are stopped for a
period of anything from 4 weeks to 3 years if we fail to comply with
DWP requests. However, being late for an appointment that you never
got told about, can land you with a sanction. Hundreds of thousands
of people are sanctioned each year. The Government saves millions of
pounds off the welfare bill with this policy.
Being
sanctioned has led directly to despair and suicides. There are 95
cases that the DWP is aware of. In April 2012, former KUWG member Nygell Firminger committed suicide as a direct consequence of homelessness that was brought on by rent arrears resulting from a benefits sanction. The 95 people were remembered at the protest. today (9 March 2016).
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| Tapestry of names of vulnerable people who died in sanctions-related-deaths |
David
Clapson was someone who was also sanctioned. Without money, he could
not chill the medication that he needed to treat the type 1 diabetes
that he lived with. He died within a week of being sanctioned.
His sister, Gill Thompson, has led a campaign
to have an inquest or inquiry into his death. The Government has
refused that request. She handed in a petition to the DWP asking
them to have an inquest or inquiry into her brother’s death – as
per photo below. Footage of his sister speaking to the crowd has been
uploaded to youtube. She is also campaigning for the government to
implement the recommendations of a review of sanctions. She is now
crowd funding a campaign to challenge that refusal. To support her
campaign go to: www.crowdjustice.co.uk/case/david-clapson
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| A DWP official hears from demonstrators. Location: DWP HQ, Caxton House on No Sanctions Day |
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