A man with uncontrolled epilepsy and brain damage who was moved from the category of ‘Incapacity Benefit’ and told to attend a ‘Work Related Activity Group’ or lose his benefits. He hung himself in his house after his appeal was rejected. A disabled man who could ride a bike but was unable to walk had benefits retroactively removed after he took part in a charity bike ride. He died of heart failure, his girlfriend said ‘he never had heart problems’. A man found dead in his apartment, surrounded by CVs, with nothing in his stomach and £3.44 in his bank account. He died as a result of diabetes because he couldn’t afford the electricity to keep his insulin cool. A man who needed a heart transplant and was given a year and a half to live by doctors was deemed ‘fit to work’ and had his benefits removed. A man with a number of serious medical conditions was told to attend a fit-for-work assessment, despite not being well enough to attend. Out of fear of losing his benefits, the man forced himself to attend but needed an ambulance while being assessed and was taken to hospital. He died the following day..

A man described by his doctor as “extremely unwell and absolutely unfit for any work whatsoever” was deemed fit for work and had his unemployment benefits removed. As a result, his housing benefit was also removed. He starved to death weighing just 35kg. A partially-sighted woman who could only walk with the aid of a stick was being deemed fit to work and told to get a job. She took an overdose and died after her appeal failed. A man who committed suicide after he was told his benefits would be cut. A partially sighted man with mental health problems who was declared ‘fit for work’ and had his benefits removed. He hung himself days before he was due to be evicted for not paying rent. A man who suffered from HIV, hepatitis C, sciatica, severe depression, insomnia and dental pain, but was deemed fit for work and had his benefits removed after a 23 minute assessment. He killed himself with an overdose of various drugs.

A man with severe mental problems who was on anti-psychotic sedatives, sleeping tablets and antidepressants and whose father believed he had schizophrenia was deemed fit for work. After his appeal failed, he jumped off a bridge to killed himself. A man with depression ever since he had become unemployed had his job had his benefits stopped. As a result he also lost his housing and council tax benefit. He then committed suicide. A man who had a brain haemorrhage and was paralysed on one side of his body. He committed suicide after learning that his benefits had been stopped. A man with epilepsy who was declared fit for work and had his benefits taken from him. He appealed the decision but hung himself five weeks before the verdict, which was successful. A man with ischaemic heart disease and angina who had a double bypass and had to reture from his job when he had a heart attack, was deemed fit for work and had his payment of £400 removed. He died of heart failure weeks later, due, according to his family, to the stress of having lost his benefits.

A man who had his leg partially amputated who hung himself after his benefits were cut. Another man with severe heart problems who needed a bypass was deemed fit to work after already winning an appeal over the same judgement. His brother said ‘the worry put so much pressure on him’. He died of a heart attack a month later. Helen had her daughter taken away because she suffered from learning difficulties but could not claim Jobseeker’s Allowance because she wasn’t fit for work. However, she couldn’t claim Incapacity Benefit either because she was not diagnosed with an official disease. Her husband Mark could not get carer’s allowance either for this reason. After struggling to get by for months, the two committed suicide in their home. A woman suffering from depression who ‘took a turn for the worse’ after receiving news that she had to be assessed by a doctor to see if she was fit for work. One of Edinburgh’s best known poets killed himself after learning that his benefits had been cut. Before dying, he laid out his benefit rejection letters on his bed.