Mims Davies corrected a written answer on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

21 February 2022 · Commons written answer · Department for Work and Pensions

Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party, Glasgow South West) asked written question 120811 on 8 February 2022. Chloe Smith answered on 21 February 2022 for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Mims Davies corrected the answer on 21 February 2022. The corrected text no longer gives the figure 100. Altogether 346 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people from sanctions if there is evidence of severe mental health or associated risk of self harm.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
We are ~~fully~~ committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we ratified in 2009, and the progressive realisation of rights for disabled people that it sets out. The UK has some of the strongest equalities legislation in the world, including the Equality Act 2010, and we will continue to make sure that these rights are protected.The UK has a proud record of furthering the rights of disabled people. The principles of the UN Convention are at the heart of our approach. We continue to reform and modernise our public services and welfare system to ensure that ~~disabled people~~ are ~~able~~ to ~~participate~~ in ~~every aspect~~ of society.The UK’s 2021 report demonstrates our ongoing commitment across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support disabled people, through legislation, policies and programmes that tackle the barriers faced by disabled people to realise their full participation and inclusion in society. The Government’s response was submitted to the UNCRPD Committee in 2021, and published on GOV.UK with accessible formats in December 2021 and can be found here .The UK Government’s recently published National Disability Strategy has been a ~~milestone in this respect, with over 100 practical commitments which are being delivered to improve the everyday lives of disabled people.~~	Those who are not expected to look for work, such as those with severe health conditions, including mental health, are not subject to work search or work availability requirements. Work Coaches engage at an individual level with them and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market where conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health or associated self-harm issues the claimant raised. Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. 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.

Original

Corrected

We are ~~fully~~ committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we ratified in 2009, and the progressive realisation of rights for disabled people that it sets out. The UK has some of the strongest equalities legislation in the world, including the Equality Act 2010, and we will continue to make sure that these rights are protected.The UK has a proud record of furthering the rights of disabled people. The principles of the UN Convention are at the heart of our approach. We continue to reform and modernise our public services and welfare system to ensure that ~~disabled people~~ are ~~able~~ to ~~participate~~ in ~~every aspect~~ of society.The UK’s 2021 report demonstrates our ongoing commitment across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support disabled people, through legislation, policies and programmes that tackle the barriers faced by disabled people to realise their full participation and inclusion in society. The Government’s response was submitted to the UNCRPD Committee in 2021, and published on GOV.UK with accessible formats in December 2021 and can be found here .The UK Government’s recently published National Disability Strategy has been a ~~milestone in this respect, with over 100 practical commitments which are being delivered to improve the everyday lives of disabled people.~~

Those who are not expected to look for work, such as those with severe health conditions, including mental health, are not subject to work search or work availability requirements.
Work Coaches engage at an individual level with them and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market where conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health or associated self-harm issues the claimant raised.
Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. 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.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1420809?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`77344e9ba998af71a09b9a9581d83cf53a8a3cd5479f2d299b5222f020c97109`