Convicted killers who are detained in hospitals under court order face being banned from claiming benefits after uproar over Nottingham attacker Valdo Calocane’s eligibility
Convicted killers who are detained in hospitals under court order face being banned from claiming benefits after uproar over Nottingham attacker Valdo Calocane’s eligibility.
Offenders in hospital – where they already receive a bed, meals and treatment – could be paid more than £800 each month in Universal Credit.
Keir Starmer warned: “It cannot be right that offenders convicted of the most serious crimes continue to receive benefits they don’t need at the expense of the taxpayer.”
Prisoners are already banned from claiming state benefits but convicted criminals who are given a hospital order remain eligible. The Government will now gather views from experts on removing Universal Credit from those convicted of crimes including manslaughter, rape and other serious offences, who are held in a hospital setting.
Fury erupted after it emerged Valdo Calocane, who fatally stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, Barnaby Webber, 19, and Ian Coates, 65 in 2023, was eligible for reportedly £360 in monthly welfare payments. The paranoid schizophrenic was sentenced to indefinite detention at a high-security hospital after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
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Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O’Malley, Grace’s parents, said: “For us, the campaigning families, this is what decisive and bold departmental leadership looks like…. Whilst we have lost our brave and beautiful daughter Grace, we now know that in her name good is being done for our country.”
The family of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche, 25, whose killer boyfriend Gogoa Lois Tape, 28, was sentenced to a hospital order after killing her, also welcomed “this long-overdue reform” after they also highlighted the loophole.
Linda and Leon Westcarr, Kennedi’s mum and uncle, said: “While this change does not undo the suffering already experienced by families like ours, it removes the added pain of knowing such injustices could continue. We hope this marks a meaningful step toward greater fairness, accountability, and compassion in public policy.”
The Prime Minister said: “These proposals will restore basic fairness and common sense to our social security system. I’m determined to do whatever it takes to stand up for victims, protect taxpayers, and ensure support goes to those who genuinely need it.”
The DWP does not know how many criminals will be affected by the plans as it is consulting on which offences to include. The Hundred Families charity, which supports families after mental health related killings, says an estimated 120 people a year across the UK are killed by someone who is mentally ill.
An offender on Universal Credit in a single household over the age of 25 and receiving the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity rate could receive over £800 per month. Other benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Carer’s Allowance tend to be time limited, with PIP stopping after four weeks of hospitalisation.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it will ensure the benefits system reflects the stark difference between those receiving long-term hospital treatment and have not committed a crime – who will not lose benefits – and those detained under court order for serious offences.
DWP Secretary Pat McFadden added: “It’s unfair to victims’ families and to taxpayers whose hard-earned cash ends up in the pockets of offenders, and contrary to our values – we don’t reward acts of violence. That’s why I’m acting to right the wrongs within our benefits system, so it supports people who genuinely need it, while delivering fairness to the taxpayer.”
Julian Hendy, from the Hundred Families charity, said: “We have long argued that paying welfare benefits to people who have committed serious violent crimes is wrong and cannot be justified. They’re offenders sentenced to hospital orders who have no costs or need for such payments.
“We’ve argued paying benefits to such violent offenders is an insult to their victims who often struggle so hard to access effective care and support.”