A woman being pursued over benefits debt and living in terrible conditions has been found dead at her home. Karen McBride who was a mum-of-four had struggled for a number of years with money problems and poor quality housing.
The family of the anti-poverty campaigner, 46, told an inquest they believed she had been failed by a number of agencies. At the coroner’s court in Stockport her daughter Codie read of a statement condemning Karen’s treatment and added there was a whole class of people being let down.
She said: “My mum was a victim of systemic abuse - which is the complete neglect towards a whole class of people in this country. This happens when funding is cut to vital services, ineffective procedures are adopted by agencies and an institutionalised poor perception towards those who are in receipt of benefits or living on the breadline is adopted.”
Ms McBride, added her family, was ‘wrongly pursued’ over benefits debt and after declaring herself homeless, only in order to be prioritised for rehousing by a housing association, she was moved into a property on Rydal Walk, Stalybridge, Tameside, with two of her children that was ‘in a very poor state with a myriad of serious restoration work needing to be done’, the MEN reported.
The inquest was told that housing association Jigsaw has said that to not accept the tenancy would mean she had intentionally made herself and her children homeless. The home had not gas or electricity and was covered in black mould, a leaking roof, leaking boiler and had pigeons nesting in the loft.
Codie, 29 said: “When mum was moving her things from the storage unit into the house, the man who delivered the items said ‘I wouldn’t even let a dog live here’.” Her previous landlord had told her to move out with six weeks notice as he was selling the home.
Code explained “This left her feeling very nervous and fearful. She was panicked about finding somewhere new to live in such a short space of time. She enquired about lots of properties but couldn’t find any private rentals that would accept her due to being on benefits. She was told by numerous estate agents that she would require a guarantor, which she did not have.
“She sought advice from the local authority and was advised to declare herself homeless in order to be prioritised for rehousing with the local housing association, Jigsaw.” mThe inquest heard from the family in Codie’s statement about ‘erroneous debt’ and an ‘issue with housing benefit right from the beginning’.
“In a letter dated December 2 2019, seven days before her actual move in date, Jigsaw informed her that her rent payment was already in arrears,” said Codie in the statement. “In a second letter, dated December 9, the actual date she moved in – was a final reminder. This letter stated if she did not resolve the issue, a ‘Notice to Seek Possession’ would be served upon her.”
Tameside Council ‘started to chase’ Ms McBride for underpayment of council tax. Codie said they sent letters ‘chasing her for thousands of pounds worth of debt which they said dated back to 2016’.
“Mum did not understand how she could have accrued so much debt as she always paid her council tax,” she said. “This initiated another exasperating process of backwards and forwards, chasing the council, seeking help from Citizen’s Advice.
“Finally, she was told the debt had accrued due to her ‘wrongfully’ claiming single person discount since 2016. They informed her that they had on record that I had been living with her since that time. This again, was incorrect information.
“I had been living in Liverpool since 2013 and paying council tax there. However, mum’s words were not heard and she was forced to start making repayments of the council tax.”
The council admitted they had made a mistake but failed to refund her for payments she had made. She was also locked in a battle with Jigsaw over the state of the house.
Karen started having mental health problems and was prescribed anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. At the time of her death, the inquest heard Ms McBride hadn’t been taking her prescribed anti-depressants.
The inquest heard in March 2022, she received a letter from Tameside Council telling her that her housing benefit had been suspended, then one from Jigsaw Homes saying she was in rent arrears. Codie told the inquest that to her mum, ‘it felt like the cycle was starting all over again’.
She said the ‘apparent issue’ was her son turning 19 affecting her entitlement to housing benefit - but again it turned out to be an error. The inquest heard that in the weeks before her death, on August 1 last year, she was ‘solemn and helpless’ and still ‘not certain’ what the situation was. “She said things were never going to change and no one would listen to her,” Codie told the inquest in her statement.
Ms McBride was found dead in her home. The family said that in the two years before her death, they do not believe she was in any state to manage her own mental health.
Michael Murphy, an operations director at Jigsaw Homes, was asked by Coroner Chris Morris whether the Rydal Walk property was fit to live in. He didn’t say yes or no, but said a gas and electric safety check was carried out and that it was ‘apparent’ that a ‘number of repairs were not done’.
He said now, their systems have been changed and they have ‘a new standard’. Karen Milner, from the council tax team at Tameside Council, said the Department for Work and Pensions notified the council to say a ‘non-dependent’ was living at the house, but on the council’s records it said ‘dependent’. That’s why, she said, payments were suspended. But Ms McBride, she added, was told on June 27 last year that the overpayment had been cleared.
Ms Milner said information was processed based on what details the council had and denied the council had made an error. Samantha Smith, head of the national operations hub at the DWP, said ‘at no stage’ were Ms McBride’s benefits suspended and because of that, there was no need for them to be reinstated. “At no point did Karen’s entitlements cease,” she said.
After submissions from the family, Coroner Mr Morris ruled a so-called ‘article 2’ inquest was not engaged. They are enhanced inquests held in cases where the state or ‘its agents’ have ‘failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk’. He said he found Ms McBride didn’t have a ‘sustained intention’ to take her own life, describing her death as an ‘impulsive act whilst under the influence of alcohol’. He recorded a narrative conclusion.
Mr Morris described her as ‘the most remarkable person who leaves an important legacy’. He said the inquest highlighted the ‘complexities of navigating the benefits system’ and said the evidence showed she was ‘frustrated to the point of desperation’, but ruled that he didn’t agree ‘the state’ should have been aware of a risk to her life.
A Tameside Council spokesperson said: “Our deepest condolences go to the family and friends of Karen McBride. The coroner found that no systemic failings by any organisation contributed to her death.
“The Council does not comment on individual cases, however reviews are undertaken in all such cases to see if any learning can be gained and improvements be made. In all cases benefits and council tax can only be assessed where information is available.”
Jigsaw Homes say Karen McBride was receiving support from a number of their services, including Inspire, which provided intensive support and Money Advice who were helping her with her housing benefit claim and who reassured her that we were not actively pursuing rent arrears. They say it’s ‘standard practice’ to ‘isolate’ gas and electricity supplies in between tenants for safety reasons.
A spokesperson for Jigsaw Homes Group said: “We would like to pass on our condolences to Miss McBride’s family and friends. She was a strong advocate for the most disadvantaged in society and we worked closely with her on the Tameside Poverty Truth Commission.
“During the inquest, some issues were brought to light that we were not aware of, and we will take a full and thorough review of this case at a senior level.”
