Killers and serious sex offenders detained in hospital are among the criminals who will no longer receive benefits under proposals called for by victims’ families. Regulations due to be laid in Parliament on Tuesday seek to end the “double provision” and prevent serious criminals receiving up to £800 a month in universal credit over several years. Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, who was killed by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham and sentenced to a hospital order, said she would now “demand” ministers reallocate the funds, which she said was a “no brainer”. The government said closing the loophole would save an estimated tens of millions of pounds annually.
The new regulations are expected to come into force early next year, subject to parliamentary approval. Currently, serious criminals on hospital orders – where their bed and board is funded by the NHS – continue to receive any benefits they were paid on the outside. Students Barnaby and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and caretaker Ian Coates, were stabbed to death on 13 June 2023 by Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020. Calocane was convicted of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, and detained at a high-security hospital.
The parents of Barnaby and Grace met with Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden to discuss the change on Monday. Emma Webber said the move was “long overdue”. Webber told the BBC it was “not an insignificant amount of money – but it is not just the money”. “These criminal patients, who have devastated lives as well as taken lives [are] not only having their full bed and board and all of their care and rehabilitation provided for them, but also amassing a small fortune while they’re inside.
“The rest of us on the outside are desperately trying to survive and find a way forward in our lives.” Webber said she believed the funds should be directed to the victims of serious crime so families “are given the support and the advocacy they need”. She added when her son was killed, her family was allocated a support worker who had 50 other families to look after. Webber said: “I beg and I plead, and – actually, I demand – ministers now consider the appropriate reuse of those funds.” Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace’s father, said: “Our campaign has always been about accountability and fairness. “Offenders with treatment orders already cost the taxpayer an enormous amount.
“On release, every offender gets help with housing and benefits. “On the principle of fairness alone, we do not see why taxpayers should fund benefits while they are incarcerated.” The mother of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche, who was killed by her partner Gogoa Lois Tape in Hackney, east London, in April 2024, also lobbied for benefits paid to offenders in psychiatric hospitals to stop. Tape was given a hospital order detaining him indefinitely after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Kennedi’s mother Linda Westcarr said: “For many victims’ families, the question of whether serious offenders should continue to receive benefits raises understandable concerns about fairness, accountability and the values we uphold as a society.
“In my view, this is not simply a question of policy, it is also a matter of moral responsibility and ensuring that the impact on victims and their families is properly recognised.” The government said the move followed engagement with victims’ families and experts as part of its plan to “put fairness back of the heart of the welfare system”. McFadden said: “We said we’d act to tackle this gross unfairness and we’re delivering on that promise. “For too long these violent criminals have had their living costs paid by the taxpayer twice over, while their victims and families paid the price. “That ends today because victims and taxpayers deserve a system that is fair and supports only those who genuinely need it.” Housing, communities and local government secretary Angela Rayner said she paid tribute to the families who had campaigned on the matter.
She added: “I’m aware the secretary of state has met with the families regarding this and was quite frankly astonished that the situation was as it was, and that these people were receiving benefits. “That’s why the secretary of state has taken this action and I welcome it.” She added that the reallocation of funds was “something for the chancellor and secretary of state”. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: “Killers and rapists should not pocket benefits from a hospital bed. “Labour has taken all year to stop a loophole it promised to close.
And tens of millions saved barely makes a dent in the benefits bill Labour has let spiral out of control. “The Conservatives would make universal credit a conditional, time-limited benefit, so taxpayers’ money goes only to those who genuinely need it.” The proposed regulations apply to individuals subject to a Section 37 order under the Mental Health Act 1983 and a Section 57A order under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The offences covered include manslaughter, attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, rape, assault by penetration and rape of a child under 13. Murder is not included because a hospital order is not an available sentence for the offence.
The change in regulation is expected to affect about 2,500 offenders already in hospital and approximately 200 a year in future, the government said, with the full financial impacts of the move due to be published as part of the 2026 Budget on 28 October. Tell us which stories we should cover in Nottingham Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, external, on X, external, or on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk, external or via WhatsApp, external on 0808 100 2210. More NHS staff sacked over attacks victims’ records Call to stop benefits for mentally ill offenders Triple killer’s benefits eligibility under review
Leave a Reply