Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the sanctions regime does not disadvantage those who experience mental health challenges.

Customers in the No Work Related Requirements Group, for example those with a severe mental health condition or disability, are not subject to conditionality requirements and therefore not subject to sanctions.

Customers are only ever sanctioned if they fail to meet their agreed requirements without good reason and they are given every opportunity to explain why they failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirement before a decision is made. We recognise the importance of understanding how a mental health condition impacts someone’s ability to search for or prepare for work and Claimant Commitments are set in discussion with the claimant and tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable.