Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing conditionality and sanctioning for disabled claimants.

We continually evaluate the evidence and the feedback from our claimants and make improvements to guidance and policy, no specific assessment has been made on the potential merits of removing conditionality and sanctioning for disabled claimants.

We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market. These conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant.

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 reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted, which is always a last resort.