Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2018 to Question 193447 on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, if she will review the (a) purpose, (b) merits and (c) economic and health effects of sanctioning social security claimants in receipt of universal credit.

In October this year, the Work and Pensions Select Committee set out recommendations relating to the economic and health effects of sanctions, which the Department is considering and will be responding to in due course.

Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. Latest data, published 12 November in the Benefit Sanction Statistics, shows that in August 2018, 2.9% of people subject to conditionality on Universal Credit had a deduction taken from their benefit award as a result of a sanction.

When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.