Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned research into the adverse effects of social security sanctions on a claimant's mental health.

No research has been undertaken or commissioned by the Department to see whether there is any potential link between the sanctions regime on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals.

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. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health issues the claimant raised.

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.