Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) timeliness and (b) effectiveness of the processing of Hardship Payments for sanctioned claimants.

The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However, the Department has published information on the number of hardship applications and awards for Jobseekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, which can be accessed via the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/jsa-and-esa-hardship-applications-and-awards-apr-2012-to-jun-2015