Coroner rules Stockton mum - who took her own life - did so as a result of her benefits being cut
Teesside Coroner's Court heard how Jodey had left notes saying she was unable to pay her bills and had no food
Last updated 2nd Jun 2025
A long awaited 2nd inquest into the death of a Stockton mum, who took her own life after her benefits were stopped by the DWP has concluded her death was caused by "Suicide in context of declining mental health due to the withdrawal of state benefits".
Jodey Whiting, 42, from Stockton-on-Tees, had been asked to attend a work capability assessment before her payments were stopped, but had not been well enough to attend, her mother told the Teesside Coroner.
Jodey's mother, Joy Dove, has been fighting for a 2nd inquest into the death of her daughter.
Today, Teesside Coroner's Court heard how Jodey had left notes saying she was unable to pay her bills and had no food.
Family members found her in her flat in February 2017 and an initial inquest recorded a conclusion of suicide but it did not consider the impact of the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decision.
Her mother Joy Dove fought a long legal battle for a second inquest, going all the way to the Court of Appeal.
She told the hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court how her daughter, who was a mother of nine including two sets of twins, suffered from a curvature of the spine and was later diagnosed with a brain cyst.
An Independent Case Examiner (ICE) report into the decision to remove Ms Whiting's benefits found that a number of mistakes had been made, and her payments should not have been withdrawn.
Extracts from notes found alongside prescription drugs in her flat were read in court.
Bridget Dolan KC, coroner's counsel, said: "She wrote about not being able to pay her bills and having no food.
"In some she wrote about feeling breathless and having back pain and trying to pay her bills and being in debt."
Another note stated: "I have had enough."
In a pen portrait, Ms Dove said: "Her death really impacted on me, and to learn from the ICE reports of the number of failures by the DWP was to play was a further deep shock that I have not recovered from."
Her father Eric Whiting said in his tribute in court, how she was like the "Pied Piper" as she always had children around her who adored her.
He added: "She always saw the fun side of life until her health issues started."
Ms Whiting had suffered from chronic pain, was dependent on opiates and had long-standing mental issues, the inquest heard.
Her mother agreed that Ms Whiting, who had six grandchildren, became increasingly housebound in the last years of her life.
She had a hospital stay in December 2016 after contracting pneumonia and that meant she missed letters about her benefits, saying she needed to be medically assessed.
Ms Dove said she reassured her daughter that she would help, telling the inquest: "I said, don't you worry, we will write in and we will explain how you have been in hospital and you are still convalescing."
But in January 2017 Ms Whiting was told she had missed the medical assessment.
And the following month, her mother said Ms Whiting received another letter saying she was fit to work.
Ms Dove told the inquest her daughter told her she could not breathe or walk out of her flat.
Ms Whiting received another letter from the DWP telling her that her benefits were being stopped, including her housing benefit and council tax.
Ms Dove said when she saw her daughter, two days before her death, she was "shaking and crying" and had threatened to kill herself.
Ms Dove said she was sure that the stress of losing her benefits was the trigger for her to decide to take her own life.
"I know my daughter and I know it was (that)," she told the inquest.
"It was the fact she couldn't find a job, the worry of paying bills and being pushed out after being so vulnerable all those years and years."
Questioned by Jesse Nicholls, for the family, Ms Dove added: "I know for a fact it was the DWP that caused it.
"She was quite happy for me to go through and look after her.
"There's no way it was anything other than that."
Two photographs of Ms Whiting were placed on the coroner's bench at the start of the hearing.
Joy Dove, mother of Jodey Whiting, said following the conclusion of her inquest today:
“It has been over eight years since we lost our Jodey, but she is with us every day. Her family misses her terribly. Jodey’s family was her life and she loved her babies – her nine children - and her six grandchildren more than anything in the world.
“I have always believed that Jodey took her life due to failings by the DWP and today
the coroner has confirmed that the mistakes made by the DWP in the way they handled Jodey’s case caused to her death.
“It should not have taken an eight-year fight for justice to get to where we are today. It has been an uphill battle trying to get answers and accountability, but I would never give up. I was determined to keep fighting for justice for Jodey.
“It is clear from the coroner’s conclusion that had the DWP followed their own protocols at the time of Jodey’s death then her benefits would not have been terminated, causing her so much distress she felt she had no way out.
“I am grateful to the coroner for their thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding Jodey’s death. To get the conclusion I have been fighting so long for means the world to me and Jodey’s family. I have always known that the failings of the DWP led to Jodey’s death and that has now been confirmed by this inquest.
“We have heard that since the ICE report the DWP has and continues to make improvements and I hope that these new measures will help safeguard other unwell and disabled people like my Jodey to ensure no others are ever treated so badly, left humiliated and ashamed through no fault of their own and then ignored and dismissed when they are trying to do everything right to make sure they can get the vital support they need.
“It is not just me who has been fighting for justice for Jodey, my whole family has been beside me. I have also had many other families in similar situations reach out to me and support me too.
“This did not just happen to Jodey, it has happened to many others. Jodey’s death was not a one-off failing by the DWP- the way they have treated some of their most vulnerable claimants is absolutely disgraceful. People struggling with their mental health should be treated with compassion and understanding. They might not always fit neatly into the procedures of organisations like the DWP but it is vital that mental health is understood in every policy and considered before every significant decision that affect someone’s welfare and livelihood.”
Merry Varney, partner at law firm Leigh Day, who represented Joy, added:
“Joy and her family have had to fight for eight years to have the cause of their beloved Jodey’s death properly recognised. That cause – the same cause in the deaths of many others – Pip, David, Errol, Stephen, Michael, Kristie and many more –is the DWP.
“Today’s conclusion shows the importance of thorough inquests that properly investigate how a death occurred. Without them, the dangerous and sometimes deadly way that those unable to work due to ill health or disability are treated by the DWP will remain covered up and unchecked. Joy, through her battle to get this second inquest and recognition of the DWP’s causative role in her daughter’s death, has not only secured justice for Jodey but shone a light for many others that must now lead to change to prevent further deaths and families broken by the acts and omissions of the DWP.”
The Department for Work And Pensions (DWP) have said they are deeply sorry and have a deeper focus and understanding on mental health and vulnerabilities now.