To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he Department has made an assessment of the effect of the imposition on benefits sanctions on the mental health of claimants with an existing mental health condition.
Answered on
24 July 2018
No assessment has been made on the impact of benefit sanctions on the mental health of claimants.
We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into the labour market. These conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant.
When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.