Over 500,000 Universal Credit claimants hit by sanctions
More than half 1,000,000 Universal Credit claimants got a sanction between February 2022 and January 2023, DWP figures have revealed.
Some 514,000 folks got a sanction throughout this era. In nearly all of instances, accounting for 97 p.c of the sanctions, an individual misplaced out on advantages as a result of they didn’t attend a compulsory interview with a piece coach at their native jobcentre.
Others got a sanction for not being obtainable for work or not becoming a member of employment programmes. Some additionally acquired a sanction as a result of they give up a job with no good clarification.
A claimant might obtain a sanction in the event that they fail to satisfy their duties as set out of their Claimant Commitment.
An individual will probably be issued a brand new dedication when their state of affairs modifications, equivalent to in the event that they tackle a brand new job, so it’s essential for a person to verify commonly to verify they know what the situations are.
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Claimants can view their dedication on-line by means of their Universal Credit account the place they’ll additionally replace their progress on their targets.
A DWP spokesperson mentioned: “If you do not meet one or more conditions of your benefit claim without good reason, your benefit could be stopped or reduced.
“This is a benefit sanction. However, not everyone that is initially referred for failing to meet the conditions of their claim will receive a sanction.
“Where a claimant’s benefit is reduced, the claimant may be eligible for a hardship payment.”
Government figures present there have been 18,462 sanctions imposed in January 2020, which greater than doubled to 45,000 sanctions imposed in January 2023.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt introduced within the Spring Budget this yr he would toughen the sanctions system to encourage people on Universal Credit to get back into work.
The Government lately elevated the executive earnings threshold, after which a claimant receives much less help to encourage them to search for work.
Under the brand new guidelines, a single claimant incomes under £494 every calendar month and {couples} with complete earnings under £782 a month are positioned within the intensive work search class.
This means they should have common conferences with a piece coach at their native jobcentre of their efforts to search for work and improve their earnings.
The DWP mentioned: “Our priority is to help people find and move into work and the latest figures show an overwhelming amount of sanctions are applied simply due to claimants failing to attend mandatory appointments, not for failing to undertake work search requirements.
“Sanctions can usually rapidly be resolved by the claimant re-engaging with the Jobcentre and attending the following appointment.”
People on some means-tested advantages, together with Universal Credit, are receiving a £900 cost of living payment over this monetary yr.
The fee goes out in three instalments with the primary £301 lately despatched out to eligible folks.
The second £300 fee goes out in autumn 2023 with the third £299 instalment going out in spring 2024.
Universal Credit funds elevated 10.1 p.c in April. These are the brand new charges for the usual allowance:
- Single underneath 25: £292.11 (up from £265.31 per 30 days)
- Single 25 or over: £368.74 (up from £334.91 per 30 days)
- Joint claimants each underneath 25: £458.51 (up from £416.45 per 30 days)
- Joint claimants, one or each 25 or over: £578.82 (up from £525.72 per 30 days).
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