Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition his Department uses for abusive behaviour in relation to a sanction of a claimant for (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payment.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessment is used to assess claimants and determine entitlement. There are no sanctions in PIP.

For Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) purposes, the Work Capability Assessment is used to assess whether the claimant has Limited Capability for Work. As this is not a conditionality requirement, sanctions do not apply.

ESA claimants can not be sanctioned for abusive behaviour.