Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken in response to the National Audit Office's December report on the UK's benefit sanctions system; and if he will launch an independent review of the sanctions regime.

It is not normal practice to comment on any National Audit Office report where this is followed up by a Public Accounts Committee hearing. We are currently awaiting the Committee’s report following the Benefit Sanctions hearing held on 12 December 2016.

Once their report is published, we will wait until HM Treasury formally commissions the Department’s official response to any comments and recommendations made by the committee. We anticipate the committee’s report to be published at the end of February 2017 and for the Treasury commission to be issued shortly afterwards.