DWP should have legal duty to look after benefits claimants, MPs say after woman’s body lay undiscovered for three years

The family of Laura Winham, who lay dead in her flat for more than three years, criticised social services for failing to support a ‘vulnerable person’ and leaving her to ‘fend for herself’ - (PA Media)

A legal duty to look after vulnerable people who are claiming benefits must be introduced at the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) after a string of deaths, a group of MPs has said.

Ministers should introduce the statutory duty to prevent people from dying or coming to harm as a result of mistakes in the welfare system, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee said in its latest report.