Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement, of 5 March 2019, HLWS1343, how many ill and disabled people will be involved in her Department’s test on sanctions and conditionality; and what steps her Department plans to take in response to the conclusions of that test.

The Department is finalising the design of the Proof of Concept and seeking input from key representatives from the sector. It is a small scale test which will be run in 2-4 jobcentres. We will use the Proof of Concept to test whether we can increase engagement with claimants through Work Coaches starting at no mandatory requirements and then tailoring conditionality up based on an individual’s circumstances.