Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hardship payments have been made to universal credit claimants while they were under sanctions.

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

We have 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, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene, as a result of their sanction.

Claimants are provided with information about hardship payments when a sanction referrral is made to a Decision Maker and also following the application of a sanction. This includes assistance, if required, with applying for a hardship payment.