No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP or WCA, assessments or social security sanctions.

a) Evaluations of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) policy are routinely carried out, and often include engagement with external researchers. The methods used are designed to be appropriate to the specific type of intervention being evaluated. Customer experience of assessments is also continually monitored. However, it would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of disability tests on mental health from other contributory factors.

b) Under Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, sanctions do not apply to all customers. Those with a health condition, illness or disability who are found to have ‘limited capability for work and work-related requirements’, are not subject to work-related conditions and will therefore not be sanctioned. Those found to have limited capability for work and claimants on work-related benefits are expected to take responsibility for meeting the conditionality requirements they have agreed with their work coach. Where a customer has a health condition, illness or disability, work coaches have the discretion to tailor these requirements to what is reasonable and achievable, taking into account the individual's condition. Additionally, in some circumstances a customer’s work-related requirements may be lifted for a period if their ability to carry them out is disrupted due to their personal circumstances.

A sanction is only applied where an individual has failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without demonstrating good reason for doing so. In cases where vulnerabilities are known or suspected, a pre-referral quality check is undertaken prior to any sanction referral to ensure that it is appropriate in the circumstances.

All work-related requirements are set in discussion with claimants, who take ownership of planning how they will meet their requirements and ultimately secure employment, if they are able to do so. Generally, work coaches have the discretion to adjust how often the claimant meets with them and how these meetings take place, in light of the claimant’s needs, circumstances and capability.

Should a claimant fail to carry out a mandatory work-related activity that has been agreed and set out in their Claimant Commitment or Work plan, we will ask them why. We will take into account any reasons they provide, including any health conditions, before referring for consideration of a sanction. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take into account all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

We also have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs as a result of their sanction, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene. All claimants will retain the right to mandatory reconsideration or appeal a decision should they disagree.

People who have a Universal Credit claim but their award is nulled (received a nil award) during the qualifying period will not be entitled to a Cost of Living Payment.

The DWP has published an Impact Assessment of the 2023/24 Cost of Living Payments which is available here.

During the qualifying period for the first 2022/23 Cost of Living Payment of £326, an estimated 7,000 households received a nil award due to sanctions.

People are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason, to meet the conditions they agreed to. 97.6% of sanctions in the quarter to October 2022 were applied for failing to attend a mandatory appointment at a Jobcentre.

These sanctions can often be resolved quickly by claimants getting in touch and attending their next appointment. If someone with no Universal Credit award due to a sanction re-engages with us they may get one of the later Cost of Living Payments.

We will be delivering the means-tested cost of living payments in three separate payments in 2023/24, reducing the chances of someone missing out altogether.

The full information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of September 2022 here.

The statistics for where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents from July 2019 to September 2022 can be found in ‘Table 7.2: Enforcement Actions - Detail on Sanctions’ of the National tables.

The full information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of September 2022 here.

The statistics for where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents from July 2019 to September 2022 can be found in ‘Table 7.2: Enforcement Actions - Detail on Sanctions’ of the National tables.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help through the Cost of Living Payments and through a wider package of support.

We will be delivering the up to £900 cost of living payment for eligible means-tested benefit claimants in three separate payments over 2023/24, which reduces the chance of households with fluctuating incomes missing out altogether. The first payment of £301 will be made from spring 2023, the second payment of £300 from autumn 2023 and the third payment of £299 from spring 2024. Individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment in summer 2023.

Sanctions on UC only apply if claimants fail to meet their agreed requirements without good reason or refuse to take up or stay in employment without good reason. The majority of sanctions can be resolved quickly by claimants rebooking and attending their next appointment. We have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs as a result of a sanction. People who are receiving a hardship payment would also qualify for a Cost of Living Payment.

For those who require additional support the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a further extension to the Household Support Fund in England. In England, this will run from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, backed by £842m. Local Authorities use the Fund to help households with the cost of essentials, and they are expected to help households in the most need, particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support the government has recently made available. The guidance makes specific reference to people with fluctuating incomes. It can be found here: 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

No assessment has been made. Emergency measures brought in during covid meant that the sanctions rate was artificially low. We always expected the rate to increase when we reintroduced face-to-face appointments and conditionality in order to help fill record numbers of job vacancies.

What assessment his Department has made of changes in the level of the sanction rate for Universal Credit between November 2021 and May 2022.

I am disappointed with that answer. The current high rate of universal credit sanctions is unprecedented. Right now, twice as many people on universal credit are being sanctioned and having their benefits cut as did before the pandemic, three years ago. At this very moment, families face the reality of hunger and freezing homes because of soaring food prices and energy bills, as well as rising rents. Instead of making things harder for those who are struggling, and punishing those on the lowest incomes, will the Minister commit to raising social security in line with inflation and end the sanctions regime, which will only inflict more hardship and homelessness this winter on those in areas such as mine?

The Secretary of State has indicated that there will be a difference in tone in the Department. There is a way that he can demonstrate that. The Department conducted an examination of the effect of sanctions and conditionality that his predecessor refused to publish. He has the opportunity to allow us to have an informed debate in the Chamber on the effectiveness of sanctions. Will he now publish that report?

We have no plans to run another pilot at this time.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department releases benefit sanction statistics at regular intervals.

Sanctions statistics for those people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS) and Universal Credit (UC) are published quarterly.

Monthly figures are available for JSA from April 2000 to January 2022, ESA from October 2008 to January 2022, IS from October 2016 to January 2022, and UC from April 2019 to February 2022.

Figures, broke down by region, are available here.

Guidance for users is available here.

A positive working relationship between a Work Coach and a claimant is crucial but the same section also shows how sanctions are an effective tool at driving compliance.

Building on the evidence from the randomised control trial to support in-work progression, we are extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes to help them to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs.

This will be provided by Work Coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training needs, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role.

The support will be offered to working UC claimants on a voluntary basis initially. However, we will review this in the future to ensure everyone who could benefit from this support engages with it.

Our evaluation of the new voluntary in-work progression offer will inform our future approach to helping UC claimants to progress.

No specific assessment has been made. The Department considers all available evidence when making decisions regarding new or existing policies. To ensure sanctions are clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours, we keep the operation of the conditionality and sanctions policies and process under continuous review. We routinely undertake Equality Analyses when developing policies.

These regulations change the amount of time people have to search for jobs in their preferred sector, which is known as the permitted period. The permitted period is available at the discretion of a Work Coach and only claimants with substantial experience in a certain sector or occupation, or at a level of remuneration are eligible. If, after 4 weeks, claimants granted a permitted period refuse to widen their job search and apply for roles, attend interviews or take up paid work outside of their preferred sector without good reason, then they may be referred for a sanction. A sanction is only ever applied if claimants fail, without good reason, to meet their agreed conditionality requirements.

We have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene.

No specific assessment has been made. The Department considers all available evidence when making decisions regarding new or existing policies. To ensure sanctions are clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours, we keep the operation of the conditionality and sanctions policies and process under continuous review. We routinely undertake Equality Analyses when developing policies.

These regulations change the amount of time people have to search for jobs in their preferred sector, which is known as the permitted period. The permitted period is available at the discretion of a Work Coach and only claimants with substantial experience in a certain sector or occupation, or at a level of remuneration are eligible. If, after 4 weeks, claimants granted a permitted period refuse to widen their job search and apply for roles, attend interviews or take up paid work outside of their preferred sector without good reason, then they may be referred for a sanction. A sanction is only ever applied if claimants fail, without good reason, to meet their agreed conditionality requirements.

We have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene.

The Department have made no assessment of the impact of social security sanctions on the mental health of recipients. The Department supports research on a range of areas and will consider each project or application on its merit.

Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. 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.

The Department have made no assessment of the impact of social security sanctions on the mental health of recipients. The Department supports research on a range of areas and will consider each project or application on its merit.

Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. 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.

The investigation of sanction durations is ongoing and involves the extensive examination and rewriting of complex code to ensure that the methodology is robust. We will provide updates on progress within the bulletin and inform users of the outcome of our investigations once these are complete. We aim to revise the complete series for sanction duration and median sanction length statistics using the improved methodology in line with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics as soon as possible.

No assessment has been made.

The Department publishes regular Benefit Sanctions statistics and whilst some of the statistics are temporarily unavailable they will be restored as soon as possible.