Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of the number and rate of sanctions applied to (a) universal credit and (b) legacy benefit claimants.

There are differences between sanctions policy in Universal Credit and other benefits. It is for this reason that the sanction rate in Universal Credit cannot be compared with the sanction rate in, for example, JSA.

For instance, under JSA if a claimant fails to attend a Work Coach meeting, after 5 days without making contact they would have their claim terminated. Under Universal Credit these claimants are sanctioned – their standard allowance is reduced - but they continue to receive other elements that they are entitled to, which might cover children and housing amongst other things. Accordingly, the numbers of sanctions will appear higher in Universal Credit.

However, the policy intent behind this difference is not to sanction more people but to ensure that all payment is not terminated, and that other elements continue to be in payment while we investigate the reason for the loss of contact with the claimant.