THE government has been ordered to reform its treatment of disabled and mentally ill benefit claimants after a string of deaths and calls from an Oldham MP.

The UK’s human rights watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has announced it is issuing a section 23 notice against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

It was in response to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Health in All Policies, established and chaired by Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

The report called for the EHRC “to investigate the deaths of vulnerable claimants by suicide and other causes between 2008 and 2020”.

The section 23 notice, which has not been agreed or signed by the DWP, requires the Government to enter into a legally binding agreement to improve its policies and practices.

The details of the agreement will be announced when it is published this summer.

Ms Abrahams has spent years demanding an inquiry into deaths of benefit claimants such as Philippa Day, 27, who took a fatal overdose in 2019 after her benefit payments were cut.

Philippa, a single mother, was found collapsed at home in Nottingham beside a letter rejecting her request for an at-home benefits assessment.

Her death was one of at least 150 cases that the DWP has reviewed between 2012-2019, after claims that their benefits processes had contributed to the death or injury of claimants, a BBC investigation found.

In April 2020, Ms Abrahams read out the names of 29 people who have died in the House of Commons, including Ben McDonald who took his own life in 2015 after being found ‘fit to work’.

Ms Abrahams has welcomed the EHRC’s announcement but has called for a full inquiry.

She said: “I want them to go much further.

"We need a full independent, public inquiry which investigates, the scale of claimant deaths, as well as the role of the culture of the DWP and the social security policies that have contributed to these deaths including the adequacy of social security support.”

She added that she has fears those reliant on social security support will be put under “unbearable pressure” amid the cost-of-living crisis.

In response to her comments, a DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to providing a compassionate and responsive service to all our customers and are constantly improving our processes to deliver consistently reliable and high-quality standards.

“We have not so far identified any systemic unlawful action by the department.

"We will continue to work collaboratively towards our shared goals with the Commission, addressing their concerns and delivering for our customers.”