Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that sanctions are imposed as a last resort and after adequate warning.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Sanctions are only ever applied if a claimant has failed to undertake their agreed requirements without good reason. All requirements are set in discussion with the claimant and tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable. Requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for every claimant.
Our work coaches regularly repeat key messages about the need for a claimant to meet their requirements and what the consequences of not meeting them are. If a claimant has known vulnerabilities, we take them into account and provide additional support where possible.
Before a referral is made, a pre-referral quality check is completed as an additional safeguarding measure to check for any claimant vulnerabilities and to review the appropriateness of the activity set.
If a referral is made, an independent DWP decision maker will further consider the claimant’s circumstances, whether the work-related requirement was appropriate, the external situation at the time of failure, and any evidence of good reason, before deciding whether a sanction is applicable.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration he has given to lowering the sanctions daily rate reduction rate to less than 100% of the Universal Credit standard allowance.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Whilst a sanction typically results in a 100% reduction of the Universal Credit standard allowance rate for each day the sanction is in place (except for couples where this is halved), lower reduction rates apply in certain scenarios where it is reasonable due to the claimant’s circumstances, such as if they are aged 16 or 17. If a claimant is entitled to additional elements on top of their standard allowance such as for children or housing costs, they will continue to be paid.
To keep the conditionality and sanctions system clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours, we keep our policies and procedures under continuous review.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's response to Recommendation 4 of the Work and Pensions Committee's Get Britain Working, Reforming Jobcentres report, what steps he is taking to monitor the quality and consistency of sanctions pre-referral quality checks.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pre-referral Quality Check is completed by a Jobcentre Team Leader, deputy, or colleague with the relevant experience.
The Department has a variety of internal performance metrics in place to monitor the quality of our services. We regularly review referrals to ensure they are being delivered consistently and fairly.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's response to Recommendation 4 of the Work and Pensions Committee's Get Britain Working, Reforming Jobcentres report, against what objectives the claimant commitment pathfinder tests will be evaluated.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Evaluation of the claimant commitment pathfinder will focus on how well the approach enables more tailored conditionality, clearer communication of expectations, and improved engagement between claimants and work coaches. It will also assess claimant understanding of their commitments and whether the approach leads to a better overall experience.
These objectives align with the reform testing outlined in response to Recommendation 4 and we are committed to publishing evaluation findings in line with Government Social Research processes.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's response to Recommendation 4 of the Work and Pensions Committee's Get Britain Working, Reforming Jobcentres report, how he plans to work with Universal Credit claimants and advice and advocacy organisations to ensure that the claimant commitment pathfinder tests are informed by their insights and experience.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The claimant commitment pathfinder is being developed using direct insight from Universal Credit claimants and work coaches. Through structured user research activity and ongoing feedback, we are assessing how the new approach operates in practice and whether it provides a clearer and improved experience from both a user and operational perspective.
This engagement forms part of wider improvements to conditionality and claimant communication set out in the Government’s response to Recommendation 4. We are committed to publishing evaluation findings in line with Government Social Research processes.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase (a) transparency and (b) control for consumers in the defined contribution pension transfer process, in relation to the inability of Independent Financial Advisers or pension holders to execute transfers based on a specified date or value.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is working with regulatory bodies, the pensions industry and other stakeholders to identify and explore potential changes to pension transfer processes that will enable greater efficiency, whilst providing savers with effective consumer protection.
In December 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper (DP24/3). The document sought views on how to ensure that consumers who ask to transfer or consolidate, do so on a well-informed basis. It also explores how pension providers can action these requests both diligently and efficiently.
The FCA is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions as it analyses the feedback received and determines next steps.
Additionally, DWP officials have conducted work with other government departments, pensions institutions, consumer organisations and the pensions industry to consider if the practical application of the Conditions for Pension Transfer regulations could be improved, whilst retaining appropriate levels of protection for pension scheme members.
We will look to share the outcome of these areas of work as soon as it is practical to do so.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to increase (a) maternity pay and (b) maternity allowance, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is currently conducting his statutory annual review of State Pensions and benefit rates. The outcome of that review will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support people with terminal illnesses during the period of increases to the cost of living.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Government wants to do all it can to alleviate the pressures on those nearing the end of their lives, and on their families.
The main way that the department does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as “the Special Rules”. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
Furthermore, the Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so, from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year, which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Also included in the £37bn is a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people who are receiving additional-needs disability benefits, and up to £650 in cost of living payments (paid in two separate payments of £326 and £324) for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit.
Pensioner households entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment will receive a pensioner Cost of Living Payment this winter of £300 per household. This will be paid as a top up to their Winter Fuel Payment and payments will be increased to £500 for a household with someone of State Pension age and £600 for a household with someone aged 80 or over.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will extend eligibility for the £650 Cost of Living payment to people in receipt of Contributory Employment and Support Allowance.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Cost of Living Payment is being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance is a non-means tested benefit. Non-means tested benefits are not qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. We have no plans to change the current eligibility criteria.
This payment comes on top of extensive Government support with the cost of living, including six million disabled people having been paid a separate £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.
These payments are part of the Government’s £15bn package of support and sit alongside:
The guidance with the full list of support can be found at:
Overall government support for the cost of living: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason there is a lower rate of Universal Credit for people under the age of 25; what recent assessment her Department has made of the difference between (a) average costs incurred by and (b) Universal Credit entitlement for people (i) under and (ii) over the age of 25; what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the lower rate of Universal Credit on (A) homelessness and (B) poverty; and whether her Department plans to take steps to equalise the rates of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
No such assessment has been made.
Universal Credit provides those who are under 25 with lower rates than those over the age of 25. This is to reflect the fact that these claimants are more likely to live in someone else’s household and have lower living costs. It also reflects the lower wages that younger workers typically receive. However, it is acknowledged that some claimants under 25 do live independently and all claimants have different needs. This is why Universal Credit includes separate elements to provide support to claimants towards additional costs, such as housing costs.