[guide.chat] benefit cuts made man set himself on fire

Man sets himself on fire outside Birmingham jobcentre
Source says man, who was taken to hospital with burns, recently had terms of 
benefits changed after being found fit to work
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 June 2012 19.53 BST

A man was witnessed setting himself on fire outside of a job centre in Selly 
Oak, Birmingham after a reported dispute over benefits payments. Photograph: 
Alamy
A man has set himself on fire outside a Birmingham jobcentre after what reports 
suggest was an argument over benefit payments.

The 48-year-old unnamed man is understood to have doused himself in flammable 
liquid and tied himself to railings after a dispute inside the Jobcentre Plus 
in the Selly Oak area on Thursday.

Police arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire after the jobcentre was 
evacuated.

The man was later taken to hospital with burns to his legs.

A source with links to staff at the centre told the Guardian the man had been 
recognised by the staff as vulnerable with outstanding health issues but had 
recently been found fit to work precipitating a move from one benefit to 
another. This had caused payment delays.

An unnamed witness who spoke to the Birmingham Mail said: "The guy came into 
the jobcentre with petrol and made threats, so they evacuated the whole 
building. I think it was something to do with a payment he had not received.

"He tied himself to the railings and tore open the bottom of his trousers. You 
could smell the fumes from the liquid he used, but the police arrived by the 
time he had set himself alight and they managed to put him out quite quickly.

"He would have to have been very desperate to have done something like that. 
It's shocking that somebody could have been driven to those depths."

West Midlands police said the man was undergoing a mental health assessment.

A spokesman for the PCS union, which represents staff at the centre, said: 
"While we still don't know the full circumstances, it's tragic and very sad 
that anyone could be driven to such a desperate act."

The incident follows an attempted suicide in a Liverpool benefits office 
earlier this year.

Earlier this month the Guardian revealed that senior Department for Work and 
Pensions (DWP) managers had sent a note to all staff warning that they take the 
"utmost care and sensitivity" when dealing with claimants, as a result of 
"difficult changes which some of our more vulnerable customers may take some 
time to accept and adjust to".

The email added: "Very sadly, only last week a customer of DWP attempted 
suicide" ? which it added was "said to be the result of receiving a letter" 
informing him that his sickness benefit would be cut off.

Last year disability campaigners warned ministers that flaws in work capability 
assessments which determine the level of support and benefits people are 
entitled to, would lead to some mentally ill people taking their own lives.

The Guardian understands that internal DWP figures do not suggest a rise in 
such incidents in recent months.

The DWP said that it was now a matter being investigated by the police.


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