A terminally ill man has been living off 12p a day for food after being refused benefits.
Peter Duut, a Dutch national who lives inHaverhill, has worked long hours as a carpenter in theUKfor the past two-and-a-half years.
When he became term-inally ill with cancer in April he tried to claim benefits, only to be told that he does not qualify.
Peter and his wife Laurel have since been unable to afford enough food, and are battling with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to give them enough money to live off.
Laurelsaid: “Peter was advised to top the amount of Jobseeker’s Allowance up with Income Support. Being ill myself I was unable to advise Peter and to my horror realised that he had a payment of £55 pounds per week for both of us to live on and pay our bills with in our rental property.
“He was then told that he had failed his Habitual Residency test and that he had no right to reside in the UK, even though he had been paying all of his national insurance stamps and taxes.”
The pair tried appealing to the DWP and called on MP Matthew Hancock for help, but have yet to have their financial situation resolved.
After paying their bills, the couple are left with just 12p each day for food. Peter now weighs 9st 2lbs (58kg).
Laurelsaid: “He looks like a person who had been released from a prison of war camp and is unable to walk far due to frailty and breathlessness.
“He has developed stomach problems due to not eating regularly and very small amounts for such long periods of time and having no money for food.”
The DWP states that Dutch nationals can receive benefits only if they are active in the labour market, but Peter has widespread cancer and has been told by a doctor that he cannot work.
Laurelsaid: “I do know that the legal system is a cold system, yet where does one draw the line on torture and inhumane treatment or even right to life?”
Matthew Hancock MP said: “The case of Mr and Mrs Duut is difficult and complicated. I deal with many such cases, and am working to try to support the Duuts to find a solution.”
A spokesman for the DWP said: “We understand that this must be a difficult time for Mr and Mrs Duut and we are working with them to ensure they get the benefits they may be entitled to, such as Disability Living Allowance.”
Black Triangle have been informed that Peter passed away on October13th, before this article was published and that Laurel, his widow is having difficulties being accepted for a funeral grant and claiming benefits herself, with it looking like she may loose the house they shared.
We have been approached by several people who have pledged a contribution to help Laurel through these difficult times and if anybody else wishes to make a donation to Laurel, they can do it via the link below to the Don’t let Disability Mean Inequality fund, with every penny donated via this link with a note put on the payment that it’s for Laurel being passed on to her.
The Don’t Let Disability Mean Inequality fund operate via a full transparency policy with accounts of all donations being available to any interested parties.
Click HERE to make a contribution to Laurel, Peters wife.
See Below for a letter Laurel wrote before he passed away
https://blacktrianglecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Laurel-Letter.pdf
he should be able to get dla straight away
Sadly he’s passed away Nevbo, his wife I think has just posted and she is now struggling to keep her house, WTF is our country coming to Grrrrrrrrr
it makese so mad.
potatoes
he is probably too ill to carry a sack home! If anyone can get hold of his sort code I’ll send him a tenner, bet lots of others would too. Perhaps some of our efforts could be pooled to give emergency funding Of course that is why we pay national insurance!
Bridget, Peter died on the 13th and they are even refusing to give his wife a funeral grant and it’s looking like she’s going to be evicted from their house. We are looking into launching an appeal for her.
Hang your head in shame DWP and UK government!!
RIP+ Peter
Bastard Goverment 🙁
Please can you do a just giving site?
omg how awful how can they get away with this i feel disgusted to e a part of great britain now its a joke i am on benefits myself but i will see if i can spare a bit hell this man paid tax so he was entitled to help they took his money no question why cant he have help
This may have been already explored, but as I am not reading anything about it, I think I ought to bring it up as a Dutch national myself, I would suggest or ask if the Dutch Embassy in London was contacted?
What about Peter’s family in the Netherlands (if he has any that is…)?
Rust zacht, Peter. Sterkte en oprechte deelname aan Laurel.
ok I admit to being a totally tight cynic. Can one of you assure me that a donation at this link will actually go to his wife
100% Bridget, the people who run the Don’t let Disability Mean Inequality fund are known to both BT and DPAC, every penny that gets donated through that link with “For Laurel” marked will get to Laurel and as it is stated, they operate a total transparency policy.
obviously (because my whole life is jinxed) the link from the donate page will not work for me. I have never used pay pal but I do not see why t hat would be relevent for not even getting the link to show. I The link button had little icons for visa etc. Have I just dithered too long? Bet no one else had trouble. I may have an over zealous fire wall set up by my son? I was only going to give a measly tenner.