Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

(asked on 2nd March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will suspend the use of sanctions on benefit claimants in the event of a covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 10th March 2020

The department has no plans to suspend the use of sanctions in the event of an outbreak because – as is the case now - the decision to apply a sanction is considered on a case by case basis and takes into consideration the claimant’s capability and circumstances.

When claimants tell us that they are self-isolating or that they have been diagnosed with covid-19, we will review the claimant’s conditionality requirements to ensure that they remain reasonable, helping them avoid sanctions.

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