Woking council apologises after body lay in flat for three years

A council has apologised after one of its tenants lay dead in her Surrey flat for more than three years.

Laura Winham, 41, was found dead in her flat in Woking by her mother and brother in May 2021.

Following the conclusion of the inquest into Ms Winham’s death on Tuesday, Woking Borough Council apologised for failings within its housing service.

“The tragic events that led to her death and the missed opportunities to discover her body should never have been allowed to happen,” said Louise Strongitharm, the council’s strategic director for communities.

Ms Winham was a vulnerable woman with schizophrenia who had twice been sectioned and had cut ties with her family because she thought they were trying to harm her.

The inquest heard how Ms Winham’s body was “mummified and almost skeletal” when it was found at her council flat in Devonshire Avenue.

Her cause and time of death could not be determined but a calendar in the flat was crossed off until 1 November 2017.

Ms Winham’s mother and brother found her remains after trying to make contact when her father’s health was deteriorating.

Coroner Karen Henderson said Woking Borough Council, its former property manager New Vision Homes, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Surrey County Council had all missed opportunities to help Ms Winham.

Responding, Ms Strongitharm said: “We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Laura’s family.

“Woking Borough Council accepts the coroner’s findings and those of the Surrey Safeguarding Adult Review, which identified failings within our housing service alongside shortcomings by other agencies. For that we are truly sorry.”

Ms Strongitharm said the council is committed to addressing the issues raised and has begun to implement changes.

She said the council brought its housing services back in-house in April 2022 to have better control over how it supports vulnerable tenants.

Claire Edgar, executive director of adults, wellbeing and health partnerships at Surrey County Council, also apologised.

“I am sorry Laura did not get the support she needed and I know that the service has worked hard to act on learning from this case,” she said.

“We will carefully consider the coroner’s findings so that everything possible is done to make sure that our practice is as good as it can be.”

The coroner said the DWP should have acted after Ms Winham’s Disability Living Allowance benefit was stopped because she did not apply for a Personal Independence Payment.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the DWP told the BBC its condolences remain with Ms Winham’s family.

The department has introduced new guidance on how to safely stop payments to vulnerable claimants, the spokesperson added.

New Vision Homes was contacted for comment.

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