Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral Answer of 8 December 2014, Official Report, column 638, what steps he has taken to raise awareness of interim payments for people affected by sanctions or delays in benefit payments.

Hardship Payments may be available to claimants who have been sanctioned. We strengthened guidance for work coaches in July 2014 and sped up the payment process so that all sanctioned claimants are informed about how and when they can make an application for a Hardship Payment and can receive payment swiftly. We plan to publish statistical information on Hardship Payments in Summer 2015.

Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) replaced Crisis Loan Alignment Payments and Interim Payments of benefit in April 2013.

There has been an increase in the number of Jobseekers Allowance claims being cleared within 10 days of 19.4 percentage points, from 70.8% in March 2010 to 90.2% in March 2014. Most benefits are paid in arrears and STBAs can help tide over claimants who qualify until their first benefit payment. This is not the same as “benefit delays” and, therefore, we do not collect such data.

As the Secretary of State announced in his oral answer (Official Report, 8 December 2014, column 633), more information will be provided to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. And staff guidance will be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.

The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants and the designs have now been reviewed by the Social Security Advisory Committee.