Benefits department denies any responsibility for carer who took his own life over bedroom tax

Benefits bosses have denied they are to blame for the death of a former foster carer who killed himself when he was unable to pay the bedroom tax.

An inquest into the death of Lee McHale ruled he had died after taking an overdose of paracetamol which caused him to suffer multi-organ failure.

The investigation into Mr McHale’s death revealed he had taken a fatal overdose after falling on hard times in the months leading up to his death after being taken to Tameside Hospital.

South Manchester coroner Alison Mutch wrote in her report: “The inquest heard that he had incurred debts prior to his death as a consequence of the gap between his housing benefit entitlement and actual rent.

“This arose due to the ‘bedroom tax’. He had a larger property from when he had fostered children.

“However, he had had to give up fostering and was as a consequence reliant on benefits. He was at risk of eviction at the time of his death.”

The so-called bedroom tax was introduced in 2012 by then Tory Prime Minister David Cameron and meant housing benefit was reduced according to the number of spare bedrooms a claimant had.

One spare room meant a 14 per cent reduction in benefits, rising to 25 per cent if two rooms were unused.

Ms Mutch has asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to respond to her concerns about the case.

She said: “The inquest was told that once Mr McHale was no longer able to foster he began to claim benefits including housing benefit.

“However the property he resided in was larger than a single occupancy property because he had previously fostered children. As a consequence he was subject to the so-called ‘bedroom tax’.

“This meant that there was a gap between housing benefit and his actual rent. Therefore he rapidly went into arrears with his rent and liable to be evicted.

“He did not feel able to deal with the situation. 

“He was worried about moving from his home in part because he had allowed one of his now adult foster children to continue living with him.

“He had allowed that because he was concerned that person would otherwise become homeless. 

“Ultimately, he took a catastrophic paracetamol overdose.”

In their response, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "The DWP is satisfied that its policy is clear and that there is additional housing support available.

"The report states that Mr McHale was an approved foster carer. Under DWP policy, foster carers can receive one extra bedroom for any number of foster children.

"This rule applies whether or not a child has been placed with the carer, as long as they have fostered a child or have become an approved carer in the last 52 weeks."