The heartbroken family of an ‘amazing’ foster dad who took his own life a week before he was due to be evicted after going into arrears over the ‘bedroom tax’ believe his death could have been avoided.
Lee McHale, who always dreamt of having children of his own, became a foster dad around 14 years ago. The 52-year-old cared for several children over the years at his home in Denton but had to stop fostering last year due to a decline in his health.
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Lee, originally from Gorton, continued to live alone in the house he’d used to look after the children. But because he had a number of spare rooms he became subject to the ‘bedroom tax’.
When his housing benefit didn’t cover his rent, he ‘rapidly went into arrears and was liable to be evicted’, an inquest at Stockport Coroners Court heard. On November 25 last year, Lee was rushed to Tameside Hospital after taking an overdose. He sadly died two days later.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Lee’s grieving brother, Gary McHale, 50, and sister-in-law Jemma, 38, said Lee felt unable to ask for financial help. Jemma visited Lee in A&E following his overdose and he told her ‘pride’ had stopped him from reaching out.
“He said it was because he was a proud man and he didn’t want to ask anyone for help even though we would have helped him,” she said.
“He didn’t disclose any of it to us. You feel guilty because obviously it was unexpected and we didn’t know it was financial.
“The money he was getting for housing benefits didn’t even cover his rent. He was always going to be in arrears and he had never been in arrears before and it wasn’t a lot. He was going to be evicted a week after he passed.”
On Lee’s death, Jemma said: “It could have been avoided.”
Jemma said Lee used to run pubs and had the Bay Horse pub in Newton Heath and managed Churchills in Manchester before he started fostering.
She said Lee stopped fostering six months before he died due to his health and explained that he had suffered two mini strokes which had affected his mobility and made it difficult for him to work.
Paying tribute to Lee, Jemma and Gary said fostering ‘meant the world to him’ and he ‘loved’ being an uncle.
“He was a lovely man and had a heart of gold. He was amazing and he would do anything for anyone. He did a lot for people and fostered for 14 years if not longer. He never had kids of his own and he always wanted them,” they said.
“He was a great character and had a good sense of humour. He liked to laugh. He did like to party in his younger years, he was just an all round nice man.
“He did a lot for us. He was a great uncle to our three and he taught our nephew to swim. If we were struggling he’d do the school run.”
Jemma and Gary believe action should be taken to prevent what happened to Lee happening to anyone else.
The bedroom tax, introduced under David Cameron’s coalition government, has been criticised by charities and academics. Officially known as the ‘under occupancy tax’, it slashes claimants’ monthly benefits if they have one or more spare bedrooms.
Manchester south coroner Alison Mutch, who oversaw Lee’s inquest, has written to the Department for Housing Communities and Local Government, warning others could die in similar circumstances to him.
The inquest heard how Lee had fallen into debt after he stopped fostering ‘as a consequence of the gap between his housing benefit entitlement and actual rent’.
“This arose due to the ‘bedroom tax’,” Ms Mutch said. “He had a larger property from when he had fostered children. However he had had to give up fostering and was as a consequence reliant on benefits. He was at risk of eviction at the time of his death.”
In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Ms Mutch said: “[Mr McHale] did not feel able to deal with the situation. He was worried about moving from his home in part because he had allowed one of his now adult foster children to continue living with him.
“He had allowed that because he was concerned that person would otherwise become homeless. Ultimately he took a catastrophic overdose.”
Ms Mutch added: “In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action.”
The inquest recorded a conclusion of suicide. A spokesperson for the MoHCLG said the department would consider the report before responding to the coroner.
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