Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether welfare advisers have the discretion not to impose job seeking conditions on a claimant in their (a) customer agreement and (b) claimant commitment when that claimant is no longer entitled to employment and support allowance and is advised to claim universal credit.

When people move from ESA to UC due to a change of circumstances (e.g. house move) not connected to their WCA, they will move into the equivalent conditionality group. Work search requirements are not imposed on people who have been found to have Limited Capability for Work or Limited Capability for Work and Work Related activity.

When people move from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit (UC) due to being found ‘fit for work’ at their work capability assessment (WCA) their UC conditionality will be decided based on their individual and household circumstances.

There are a range of circumstances on UC where work-related requirements must be switched off temporarily because people are experiencing difficult personal circumstances and our work coaches do have the discretion to reduce or suspend job seeking conditions on their Claimant Commitment. Even for people who have been found fit for work, work coaches may still agree to tailor the number of hours, type, and location of work, to take account of the person’s health condition. Work coaches receive training on how to adjust conditionality to reflect a person’s individual circumstances.

People who are full time carers or have caring responsibility for a child under 1 will not be asked to complete any work related requirements when they move to UC in recognition of their current situation.