Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many responsible carers and lone parents in receipt of legacy benefits and universal credit have received a sanction for not applying for a sufficient number of jobs using the Universal Jobmatch website.

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

We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support and any conditionality requirements to reflect individuals’ specific circumstances and ensure they remain realistic and achievable.

We take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any caring responsibilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.