The Government is committed to delivering a welfare system that encourages and supports people into work, while providing a vital safety net for the most vulnerable.
As you note, the Chancellor recently announced that the Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) will review the sanctions regime to ensure that
benefit claimants are moving into work. This review stands alongside measures
outlined at the Spring Budget 2023, which included automating parts of the
sanctions regime and ensuring that DWP Work Coaches have the tools and training
to implement sanctions as effectively as possible.
While I note your concerns about these announcements, sanctions
underpin the work-related activities a claimant will have to do in order to get
full entitlement to Universal Credit (also known as "conditionality")
and are a key part of a fair and effective welfare system. It is right that the
welfare system encourages claimants to take reasonable steps to prepare for and
move into work.
Sanctions on Universal Credit only apply if claimants fail to meet
their agreed requirements without good reason. If information amounting to a
good reason comes to light after a sanction has been applied, the sanction can
be overturned and the money repaid via mandatory reconsideration.
The DWP has 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 because of a sanction.
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