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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Convicts push for benefits rights | Convicts push for benefits rights |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Two inmates of Broadmoor secure mental hospital - convicted of murder and rape - are arguing for the right to claim full state benefits. | Two inmates of Broadmoor secure mental hospital - convicted of murder and rape - are arguing for the right to claim full state benefits. |
| Some detained patients with histories of violence can claim funds such as Incapacity Benefit and Income Support. | Some detained patients with histories of violence can claim funds such as Incapacity Benefit and Income Support. |
| The Sun newspaper suggests about 150 people - who have never been convicted - qualify for up to £95 a week. | The Sun newspaper suggests about 150 people - who have never been convicted - qualify for up to £95 a week. |
| The men's lawyers say they have served their main jail term, but the government disputes the claim. | The men's lawyers say they have served their main jail term, but the government disputes the claim. |
| Commenting on the legitimate payments to secure hospital patients, a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the law required patients being detained to be treated "the same as any hospital in-patient". | Commenting on the legitimate payments to secure hospital patients, a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the law required patients being detained to be treated "the same as any hospital in-patient". |
| The DWP said while convicted prisoners were not entitled to benefits, people who had been deemed too ill to stand trial in court and were sent directly to secure mental hospitals were legally classed as patients with the same rights as any other. | |
| People who have been convicted and sentenced in court, then later deemed too sick to remain in jail and transferred to a mental hospital, were not entitled to claim benefits, he said. Prisoners do not get benefits Department for Work and Pensions | |
| Patients not convicted are entitled to claim Incapacity Benefit for illnesses, and in some cases pensions credits. | Patients not convicted are entitled to claim Incapacity Benefit for illnesses, and in some cases pensions credits. |
| Those who had not paid sufficient National Insurance contributions to claim Incapacity Benefit were in some cases entitled to claim Income Support, said the DWP. | Those who had not paid sufficient National Insurance contributions to claim Incapacity Benefit were in some cases entitled to claim Income Support, said the DWP. |
| But this did not apply to anyone who had been convicted and sentenced. | But this did not apply to anyone who had been convicted and sentenced. |
| "Prisoners do not get benefits. Anyone who has been sentenced for a crime and sent to either a prison or a mental hospital or institution does not get any benefits until they have served their time," said a DWP spokesman. | "Prisoners do not get benefits. Anyone who has been sentenced for a crime and sent to either a prison or a mental hospital or institution does not get any benefits until they have served their time," said a DWP spokesman. |
| "In the very small number of cases where a judge or court, using all available evidence decides a prison sentence is not appropriate but instead refers them to a hospital or institution for treatment, the law requires us to treat them the same as any other hospital in-patient." | "In the very small number of cases where a judge or court, using all available evidence decides a prison sentence is not appropriate but instead refers them to a hospital or institution for treatment, the law requires us to treat them the same as any other hospital in-patient." |
| The department said it was unable to comment on the ongoing legal case involving the two Broadmoor inmates. | The department said it was unable to comment on the ongoing legal case involving the two Broadmoor inmates. |
| It said it could not confirm the number of patients in secure hospitals claiming Incapacity Benefit because the figures were not broken down that way. | |
| "Benefit claimants who are held in mental health units would be recorded as claimants who were in hospital. Our records would not show which of these people are held in secure mental institutions," said a spokesman. | "Benefit claimants who are held in mental health units would be recorded as claimants who were in hospital. Our records would not show which of these people are held in secure mental institutions," said a spokesman. |