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 9 May 2019 on Labour Market Policy Update, HCWS1545, whether people currently serving a sanction for a period of over 26 weeks will have that sanction rescinded.
We are planning to reduce the duration of the third escalation of a high-level sanction (currently three years) to six months. We aim for this change to come into force by the end of the year. For those who have completed a three-year sanction in the past, they will not be entitled to recompense because their sanction was made in accordance with the law that was in place at the time.