Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The question addresses the trend in benefit sanctions over the past five years, highlighting a significant increase from May 2019 to October 2023.
What assessment has been made of trends in the number of benefit sanctions in the last five years?
In May 2019, the universal credit sanction rate was 3.17%. It reduced considerably during the pandemic, gradually returning to 3.51% by November 2021. It then continued to rise, reaching a peak of 7.29% in October 2023, but it is now falling, with a rate of 6.17% in May 2024.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Recent research by Gingerbread highlights that a high percentage of benefit sanctions have been misapplied to single parents due to missed meetings for childcare reasons. The questioner mentions an individual case of Max, whose sanction was overturned after a challenging process.
According to recent research by Gingerbread, a high percentage of sanctions have been misapplied to single parents not because they have not met the job search requirements but because of missed meetings for reasons connected with childcare. Will my hon. Friend look into the possibility of overhauling the mess of a system that was left behind by that lot over there?
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and, through her, I would like to thank Gingerbread for its work on this issue. There have always been, and always will be, conditions attached to social security, but the past 14 years show what happens when we have a Government who are more interested in blaming people and creating cheap headlines than offering real help. In our manifesto, Labour committed to review universal credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty, and the report that Gingerbread has written will also help inform our child poverty taskforce.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific ask for overhauling the sanctions system was not directly addressed; instead, the response focused on Labour's manifesto commitment to review universal credit.
Under Review
Manifesto Commitment
Response accuracy