Benefit and Universal Credit sanctions, disability reviews and assessments SUSPENDED for three months

BENEFIT and Universal Credit claimants won't face sanctions for the next three months if they fail to look for work.

Meanwhile reviews and assessments, which are typically for those on disability benefits, have also been suspended for the same time frame.

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It comes as the government tries to minimise face to face contact with benefit claimants to try and stop the spread of coronavirus.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already suspended jobcentre appointments for three months with only the most vulnerable allowed in for pre-agreed appointments.

The move is also part of government plans to prioritise processing new benefit claims.

Almost half a million people have claimed Universal Credit alone in the past nine days.

Work and pensions secretary of state, Thérèse Coffey, said: "As this country ramps up its efforts to support people through coronavirus, we will do whatever it takes to protect claimants and our staff.

"We are automatically extending all awards and reassessments for health and disability benefits to provide that reassurance to those in receipt of them."

She added: "Recognising the need for DWP civil servants to focus on the processing of claims, we will not be checking conditionality compliance regarding looking for and being available for work for the next three months.

"This means no sanctions should be applied for that reason for the next three months and regulations will be introduced to bring that to effect."

Here's what it means for you.

What's happening?

As announced last week, people receiving benefits do not have to attend jobcentre appointments for at least three months.

But now the government has gone one step further and said there will be no new reviews or reassessments across all benefits for three months.

This includes Universal Credit, employment and support allowance (ESA), personal independence payment (PIP), disability living allowance, attendance allowance and the industrial injuries disablement benefit.

Face-to-face assessments for all sickness and disability benefits have also been suspended for the next three months, including for any new claims.

Plus, benefit sanctions for failing to look for work and for not making yourself available for work have been suspended for three months.

If I don't have a review or assessment will my benefits still be paid?

Where you're close to your awards expiring and you're due a review or assessment, DWP will extend the end date.

This means you'll continue to get your benefits at the same rate as now.

For PIP claimants who've already had an assessment, this will continue to be processed.

If an assessment had been scheduled for a PIP claimant, you'll be contacted by the assessment provider to discuss how this will be taken forward.

If you're on ESA or Universal Credit and your case has been referred, you will also be contacted to take this forward.

Everyone else will continue to get their benefits as normal.

What if my situation changes?

If your situation changes you should still contact DWP as normal to ensure you receive the correct level of support.

Do I still have to look for work?

Failure to meet the responsibilities you agreed with DWP normally results in a benefits sanction.

Reasons for this can include failure to look for work, failure to attend a work focused interview, or not accepting a reasonable job offer.

This usually sees your benefits docked for a set period, although how much by depends on why you're being sanctioned.

See our benefit sanctions guide for more information.

But for the next three months, DWP won't check if you're looking for work or making yourself available for work because staff have to focus on processing new claims.

This means there are no sanctions for these reasons during this timeframe, although we've asked DWP to confirm if all other types of sanction are also suspended.

We've also asked if sanctions already in place will also be suspended and we'll update this story once we know more.

But despite all this, the government says it still wants people to continue to look for work.

It points out that new jobs are being created, particularly in the retail sector with supermarkets taking on more staff to meet demand.

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Can I still submit a new claim if there are no reviews or assessments?

Yes, if you are a new claimant you should go online to start your claim.

Be prepared to wait in a queue though as DWP is struggling to keep up with demand from laid off workers.