Government apologises two years after brother killed himself when benefits cut
A sister who received a Government apology after her brother committed suicide when his benefits were cut says she hopes lessons have been learned.
Linda Cooksey finally brought a two-year battle to a close when two departments personally wrote to her to say sorry.
Mrs Cooksey's brother, Tim Salter, took his own life two years ago when he was threatened with eviction from his home in Meddins Lane.
South Staffordshire's coroner Andrew Haigh previously ruled the sizeable reduction in Mr Salter's benefits had been a 'major factor in his death' and the 53-year-old, who was partially sighted and suffered from mental health problems, had been left 'almost destitute when threatened with repossession of his home'.
Mrs Cooksey, who found her brother hanging in his own home, said although the battle had been long she hoped people facing similar problems would know where to get help.
She said: "I have heard through social media that groups like mental health charity, Mind, are now getting more people contacting them for help following this case.
"I hope it has shown people they can also go to places like the Citizens Advice Bureau, which is a good avenue to go down.
Mrs Cooksey said she had no idea the case would go on for two years but she was determine to get an answer.
She said: "I started by asking for some information and it has just gone on from there. I didn't realise how many people it had affected.
"Quite a few times they said they'd done nothing wrong but I carried on. The CAB helped me a lot.
"The final stage was to go through the Ombudsman and the whole procedure has taken two years.
"I was even told just before Christmas they were not going to deal with it but then they agreed my brother had been assessed wrong."
Mrs Cooksey said although she was getting better she still had terrible memories of the tragic day she found her brother following his suicide.
"It has been awful but I am getting better and I feel I have taken this as far as I can," she said.
"It was horrible when I found him and I was shocked he never told me anything was wrong.
"I was expecting to have a chat with him but instead found him hanging at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's been two years but luckily I have my family and grandchildren to take my mind off it.
"It would have been his birthday on Tuesday so things like that and Christmas time can bring it all back again.
"The letters of apology have not helped really because it should never have happened in the first place."
The Department for Work Pensions, in a letter to Mrs Cooksey, said it accepted the Ombudsman's finding and offered its sincere apologies for the errors identified in the handling of her brother's claim.
