DWP must give "facts behind the claims" on benefit sanctions
18 July 2018
The Committee writes to employment minister Alok Sharma querying data on benefit sanctions supplied by the Department.
- Letter from the Chair to Alok Sharma
- Letter from Alok Sharma to the Chair
- Annex 1 - WPSC Sanctions Data
- Annex 2 - WPSC Sanctions Data
- Annex 3 - WPSC Sanctions Data
- Annex 4 - Hardship Notification
- Annex 5 - Recoverable Hardship Guidance
The Department's published data consistently understate the number of sanctions applied for UC, JSA and ESA claimants by updating figures to reflect the post-appeal status. This means that every time a sanction decision is overturned at appeal, it no longer appears in the number of sanctions applied.
he pre-appeal figure for ESA sanctions was, in one month, as much as 57% higher than the post-appeal figure published by the Department. The Committee is asking for an explanation and for the Department to publish pre-appeal figures routinely so that the true picture can be understood.
The data also shows that in February 2018 1,108 Universal Credit claimants were still subject to a sanction despite having moved into in the “Working Enough” or “No Work-Related Requirement” conditionality group – usually because they are medically not fit for either work or to look for work.
The Committee is pushing for an answer on what possible purpose a sanction can serve for claimants whose circumstances mean there are no conditions attached to their benefits.
Chair's comments
Rt Hon Frank Field MP, Chair of the Committee. said:
“What is the point of applying sanctions to people who cannot work and are not expected to look for jobs? The DWP have yet to make the case that benefit sanctions work to get people into employment and it's difficult to see how they can have that affect for people who are ‘working enough' or cannot work. Benefit sanctions are the only major welfare reform this decade to have never been evaluated, and the picture DWP paints of the policy doesn't match the troubling stories we've heard. In the wake of the NAO's damning assessment of Universal Credit, we more than ever need the facts behind the claims.”
Further information
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