Grieving mum found hanged near Bedroom Tax eviction letter had written poverty plea to David Cameron

Grieving mum found hanged near Bedroom Tax eviction letter had written poverty plea to David Cameron

11:41, 22 Jan 2016
[*]Updated  15:15, 22 Jan 2016
[*]By Mirror.co.uk

Frances McCormack, aged 53, had been badgered for Bedroom Tax after the death of her 16-year-old son Jack Allen in 2013, an inquest heard

Tragic: Frances McCormack was found hanged on the day she had an eviction notice for unpaid Bedroom Tax
A mother threatened with eviction from the house where her son took his own life was found hanged in the same spot, an inquest heard.

Frances McCormack, aged 53, had been badgered for Bedroom Tax after the death of her 16 year old son Jack Allen in 2013, the coroner heard.

The eviction notice arrived at her home the same day Ms McCormack's body was discovered on August 10 last year.

A handwritten note was found in her bedroom, part of which was addressed to David Cameron on the hardship the Bedroom Tax was causing.

It was dated 10 days earlier and made no mention of the eviction notice, the inquest heard.



Close friend Natalie Richardson discovered the body of Ms McCormack, a school cook, at her home in Maltby, near Rotherham.

She had meant to call earlier but had been delayed while out shopping.

She told the Doncaster inquest: "Frances had spoken to me previously about the property.

"She wanted to buy into it, it was where the three boys were raised and where Jack took his last breaths, ate his last meal and spoke his last words.

"She was a very strong woman, very strong minded. I felt she was getting a lot better with herself. She had decided to go out a bit more, she had started going to the gym, she was very focused and always had something to do.



"She never gave me any kind of inkling and was strong for me when my partner passed away. She was my rock."



Ms McCormack's death came when she was contributing to Rotherham Council's suicide prevention work after several suicides among young people in the town.

Her ex husband, Jimmy Allen, who remained on good terms with Ms McCormack said: "We'd been to council meetings to see if we as parents could help other parents it had happened to.

"We said if we could save one life a year, even one every ten years it would be worth it."

Assistant Doncaster coroner, Mark Beresford, recorded a narrative verdict saying she may have been trying to gain leverage over the council with a "staged arrangement" which went tragically awry.



He said: "The method was strikingly similar to that in which Jack ended his life, by which a powerful message could be sent, possibly to the authority dealing with her eviction, providing Ms McCormack with persuasive ammunition.

"The question of whether she intended to take her own life remains unclear.

"She was a strong willed woman and a good loving mother. This was a totally unseen body blow to the family."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grieving-mum-found-hanged-near-7223683





This is just so sad and heart-breaking..

[*]And this...



Tories had shocking Bedroom Tax report for a week before slipping it out on "bury bad news day"



16:05, 21 Jan 2016

[*]Updated  17:08, 21 Jan 2016  

[*]By Dan Bloom

 

The study by Iain Duncan Smith's department showed 78% of victims were penniless by the month's end and half had to turn down their heating
[snipped from article]
She said: "The DWP’s own evaluation finds the ‘bedroom tax’ is not only pushing families into hardship but it’s also failing to free up more accommodation for families - the key argument ministers used to justify this controversial policy.
"This is a long and deep look at a hugely controversial policy - it really should not have been released just as MPs rise for Christmas."
DWP sources still stand by the bedroom tax, saying it was "wrong" that "taxpayers had to subsidise benefit claimants to live in houses that are larger than they require".
A DWP spokesman said: "All our publications are pre-announced, as is standard practice, and we published this report within 7 working days of receiving the final report from the authors."


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-shocking-bedroom-tax-report-7220930

This problem  we have now with too few homes fit to give to small families, is to become even worse when there are so many poor souls from abroad ,being housed . It certainly is not good ,when nothing available for our families, but once the refugees arrive ,abracadabra,they find empty houses.It seems so hypicritacle . This is going to make a lot more anger I think . joyce1938