Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on benefit sanctions of the report by the Children's Society, The cost of being care free, published in June 2016.

We are grateful for this report focusing on care leavers from The Children’s Society, and for their recommendations, which we will consider as part of our continuous review of sanctions policy to ensure the process functions effectively and fairly.

I can assure you that where we identify an issue, we act to put it right.

For care leavers, as with other claimants, the sanctions process encourages them to prepare for or find work, by meeting their agreed commitments based on their individual circumstances and capabilities, as set out in their Claimant Commitment. This includes both mandatory and voluntary actions care leavers have agreed to undertake. The consequences and implications of not meeting any agreed requirement are clearly set out and explained to them.

A decision to apply a sanction is not taken lightly, and claimants are given the opportunity to provide a good reason for not complying before the decision is made.

Our primary goal is to help care leavers get into work wherever possible and they receive tailored, locally-appropriate employment support at the earliest opportunity to achieve this.

Care leavers, like all claimants, take ownership of planning how they will meet their requirements and ultimately secure employment. They will be supported by their Work Coach who will assist them in meeting their requirements through providing encouragement and direction, using a range of communication methods. Work Coaches support all claimants who require additional support to ensure that they fully understand what they have been asked to do to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services.