Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to pause all benefits sanctions over the Christmas and new year period from 21 December 2018 to 5 of January 2019.

Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

We have not paused sanctions nationwide during the Christmas and New Year period since 2010 and there are no plans to pause sanctions in the upcoming period. This is consistent with the approach taken prior to 2010.