PFD report

Miriam Joyce Smith-Cox · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 24 Jul 2015•Cornwall

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

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Concerns
1

Raised in this report

Recipients
2

Named on the report

Responses found
2

Of 2 recipients

Stated actions
5

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised1

  1. Failure to receive or act upon safeguarding concerns about accommodation and living conditions
    Part of recurring concern: Failure to act appropriately on safeguarding referrals and notices
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.2

  1. Action

    Deliver additional safeguarding, Alerters and lone-working training to the Truro team with the company specialist.

    Stated by Pluss OrganisationStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 15 July 2020.
  2. Action

    Provide all Pluss staff with a safeguarding case study to raise awareness and reinforce understanding of safeguarding responsibilities.

    Stated by Pluss OrganisationStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 15 July 2020.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to receive or act upon safeguarding concerns about accommodation and living conditions

Wider context from the report

“That████████, ████████████████████ with Pluss Work Choice Programme Cornwall raised a safeguarding concern about the suitability of Ms Smith-Cox accommodation and living conditions in December 2014 (see attached letter to ████████ dated 4.12.14 and report) which ████████ gave evidence she did not receive or act upon. ████████ was a key stakeholder in the support of Ms Smith-Cox. Ms Smith-Cox fell down the stairs for unknown reason as raised as a concern by ████████ and this fall led to her death. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Failure to act appropriately on safeguarding referrals and notices.

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Deliver additional safeguarding, Alerters and lone-working training to the Truro team with the company specialist.

Verbatim wording from the response

“We will also be carrying out additional Safeguarding, Alerters and Lone Working training with the Truro Team with the company specialist within September.”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-PLUSS_Redacted.pdf
Page 2 · response
Published 15 July 2020

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Provide all Pluss staff with a safeguarding case study to raise awareness and reinforce understanding of safeguarding responsibilities.

Verbatim wording from the response

“As an organisation we will be utilising the learning from this unfortunate episode to provide a case study to raise awareness with all Pluss staff,”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-PLUSS_Redacted.pdf
Page 1 · response
Published 15 July 2020

Open published response

Other statements in published responses

These actions and other statements could not be clearly connected to one concern in this report.

Recipient-stated actions An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.3

  1. 1

    Provide staff guidance for identifying vulnerable claimants and determining appropriate additional support.

    Stated by Department for Work and PensionsStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 15 July 2020.
  2. 2

    Provide Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres to offer specialist assistance to disabled claimants with complex employment needs.

    Stated by Department for Work and PensionsStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 15 July 2020.
  3. 3

    Maintain a Vulnerable Customer Network for consultation and feedback on improving support for vulnerable claimants.

    Stated by Department for Work and PensionsStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 15 July 2020.

Recipient positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when they do not describe a specific action.2

  1. 1

    Provision of social services or health lies outside the Secretary of State’s role.

    Stated by Department for Work and PensionsOutside remitThe respondent said that this matter was outside its role or authority.
  2. 2

    The records do not support benefits being stopped without payment; payments continued, and any reported shortfall may have been a budgeting issue.

    Stated by Department for Work and PensionsDisputes the concernThe respondent disagreed with part of the concern or the basis for it.

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Provide staff guidance for identifying vulnerable claimants and determining appropriate additional support.

Verbatim wording from the response

“them to access DWP benefits and use our services”. The aim of this approach is to ensure that the targeted additional support to individuals enables them to access benefits, use our services, and meet their individual responsibilities. “Vulnerability” is not treated as a static state; there are stages at which an individual may require extra assistance, and it is likely that they will move in and out of situations where they do/do not require support. DWP remains committed to ensuring that we identify these individuals and the situations in which they require assistance.”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-the-Department-of-Work-and-Pensions_Redacted.pdf
Page 6 · response
Published 15 July 2020

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Provide Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres to offer specialist assistance to disabled claimants with complex employment needs.

Verbatim wording from the response

“Disability Employment Advisers”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-the-Department-of-Work-and-Pensions_Redacted.pdf
Page 5 · response
Published 15 July 2020

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Maintain a Vulnerable Customer Network for consultation and feedback on improving support for vulnerable claimants.

Verbatim wording from the response

“21. In the Devon, Cornwall and Somerset District, there is also a well established Vulnerable Customer Network, which provides a forum for wider consultation regarding “vulnerable” claimants, and to consider possible solutions for improving support for vulnerable claimants. It provides an opportunity for customer representative groups to feed back to DWP in order to help us enhance our service.”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-the-Department-of-Work-and-Pensions_Redacted.pdf
Page 6 · response
Published 15 July 2020

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Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Provision of social services or health lies outside the Secretary of State’s role.

Verbatim wording from the response

“32. We are content that in this particular case Ms Smith-Cox received extensive and committed assistance from DWP and its service provider, Pluss. Although the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has no role in the provision of social”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-the-Department-of-Work-and-Pensions_Redacted.pdf
Page 8 · response
Published 15 July 2020

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

The records do not support benefits being stopped without payment; payments continued, and any reported shortfall may have been a budgeting issue.

Verbatim wording from the response

“26. We have also checked our records for the periods where she transferred between benefits, and on each occasion, the claims were processed quickly and efficiently, for example when she claimed JSA in 2014, her claim was made on 28 May 2014 and payment was made on 3 June 2014 (4 working days). We have not found any evidence in our system to support the assertion that her benefit was “stopped with no money coming in” – it is clear that her benefits were paid on a continuous cycle not exceeding a fortnight between each payment. At the time that Pluss refer to taking Ms Smith-Cox to a food bank (January 2015), Ms Smith-Cox was in receipt of ESA. We assume that if she was lacking money, it was a budgeting issue. We could have assisted Ms Smith-Cox with her budgeting if we had known about it, and this is also something that Pluss were equipped to assist with.”

Source location

2015-0475-Response-from-the-Department-of-Work-and-Pensions_Redacted.pdf
Page 7 · response
Published 15 July 2020

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026