Update on David Clapson, sanctioned to death

Guest blog post by Gill Thompson, sister of the late David Clapson. (David Clapson died after being found 'fit for work' and then sanctioned for inability to stick to a 'Claimant Commitment' that was not fit for humanity.)

David Clapson when he was a serving soldier

Update on David Clapson: sanctioned to death?   Hi,   As many of you know, I have been campaigning for a long time to try and achieve an investigation into the link between the benefit sanction imposed on my brother and his death. I believe that having had his benefits stopped due to a sanction, he was unable to afford to buy food and electricity to refrigerate his insulin, which in turn left him unable to manage his diabetes.   Unfortunately despite the best efforts of my lawyers, the Coroner has refused to open an investigation as he considers there is no evidence that the benefit sanction played any role in my brother’s death. I am now preparing to ask the High Court to consider my brother’s case and am raising money to cover legal fees, including court fees and experts fees.   In order to do this, I need to raise a minimum of £10,000 and I would appreciate any help you can give. You can pledge your support here – https://www.crowdjustice.org/case/david-clapson/   Please share the link on social media and email it to 3 people who you think would be interested to help me spread the word. Please also make a pledge of £35 or whatever you can afford to the new case. Either of these things will really help me to take this case to the High Court.   I am very grateful for your support of my campaign so far. This is not just about my brother. I want a Coroner to look at the DWP guidance on people living with Diabetes and how the sanction regime is applied to people with long term health conditions. The UN has raised concerns about the extent to which the UK government has made use of sanctions in relation to benefits and the absence of due process and access to justice for those affected by the use of sanctions. I hope you can continue to support me in my fight to ensure David’s death is properly investigated and action taken to prevent future deaths of vulnerable people   Thanks so much for your ongoing support,   Gill Thompson

Jobcentres and access requirements of people with diabetes

By Dude Swheatie of the KUWG

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group Honorary Member Kate Belgrave has written:

.... [G4S security guards in jobcentres] tell people off for eating – a problem for Eddie, who is diabetic and sometimes needs to eat the biscuits he always carries with him.....

— Reasonable adjustment for disabled people who sign on for JSA? I think not!

And I note that the problem of no reasonable adjustments for disabled people at jobcentres indicated in Kate's blog piece is made more persistent by the regime of daily signing on at jobcentres that is becoming far more prevalent. That increased prevalence is according to the findings of KUWG members leafleting and talking to jobcentre 'customers' exiting jobcentres after their poverty parole sessions, as sampled at various jobcentres near Kilburn.

I am also aware from previous First Aid training I received in 2005/2006 as a care worker, that hypoglycaemia can lead to behavioural problems. Thus aside from likely 'knee jerk reaction' by jobcentre 'customers' to the impact of the general vindictiveness inflicted upon them under 'welfare reform' measures, G4S' institutional ignorance of diabetic access requirements makes 'powder keg' situations far more likely. 

And of the hundreds of Londoners put on JSA sanctions each day, perhaps at least a few are sanctioned on account of behaviour resulting at least partially from hypoglycaemia — if indeed those who give the sanctions need any justifiable reason to inflict a sanction. (Most JSA sanctions are overturned.)

Further still, when people are sanctioned out of food money for weeks upon weeks — whether they have diabetes or not — their blood sugar is likely to run low, limiting their available blood sugar and thus producing irritability. Thus sanctions and low blood sugar are likely to have an impact upon whether a person is inclined to do damage to jobcentre property and thus be banned from attending the jobcentre and being further compromised regarding accessing 'the help [they] need, when [they] need it', wouldn't you say?