Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have been sanctioned since January 2012 have received hardship payments in each year since then; and what the average level was of such hardship payments.

The latest available published information for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) hardship awards is for the year from April 2011 to March 2012 and can be accessed via the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222972/hardship_adhoc_2011_2012.pdf

Information on the weekly amount awarded or on the duration of the award is not available. Therefore it is not possible to work out the average level of such hardship payments.