DWP benefit claimants will be sanctioned if they refuse to work or take up training, says minister

If benefit claimants refuse to take up training or work, they will face sanctions
-Credit: (Image: PA)


A Government minister has said benefit claimants deemed fit to work will face sanctions if they refuse to take up job or training opportunities.

Liz Kendall said people have a "responsibility" to engage with training or employment programmes and will lose financial support if they decline to do so. The Labour Government has said it will stick to a commitment under the former Tory administration to reduce the welfare bill by £3 billion over five years.

Under the previous Government, welfare eligibility would have been tightened so around 400,000 more people signed off long-term would be assessed as needing to prepare for work by 2028/29 to deliver the savings. On Sunday, Ms Kendall declined to reveal how specifically Labour will cut costs ahead of announcing a package of legislation next week, saying only the Government will introduce its own reforms.

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The Work and Pensions Secretary told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: "If people repeatedly refuse to take up the training or work responsibilities, there will be sanctions on their benefits. The reason why we believe this so strongly is that we believe in our responsibility to provide those opportunities, which is what we will do. We will transform those opportunities, but young people will be required to take them up."

Ms Kendall said she believed "many millions" of disabled people and those with long-term health problems want to work, and "we need to break down the barriers to that happening". Asked whether some 400,000 people would ultimately be denied their current benefits, she told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "I'm saying we will bring forward our own reforms.

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"You wouldn't expect me to announce this on your programme. But my objective is that disabled people should have the same chances and rights to work as everybody else."

The latest official forecasts published by the Government show the number of people claiming incapacity benefits is expected to climb from around 2.5 million in 2019 to 4.2 million in 2029. Last year there were just over three million claimants.

Ms Kendall will launch proposals on Tuesday designed to "get Britain working" amid Government concerns about the projected rise. Her white paper is expected to include the placement of work coaches in mental health clinics and a "youth guarantee" aimed at ensuring those aged 18-21 are working or studying.