Minister for Employment to SSAC: Dual claims – discrepancy in the application of escalating sanctions where dual claims are involved
Published 27 April 2023
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To: Dr Stephen Brien
Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) Chair
From: Guy Opperman MP
Minister for Employment
Department for Work and Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9DA
6 March 2023
Dear Stephen,
I am writing in follow up to our meeting on 11 January 2023. I am sorry that I was unable to attend the meeting in person.
At the meeting we touched on the dual claims discrepancy, and I agreed to write to you with an update.
At the SSAC meeting on 27 April 2022, I understand that officials agreed to investigate your proposed solution to the dual claims discrepancy. After careful consideration, officials wrote to you on 13 June 2022 to explain that in nearly every case your solution would lead to the same result as the original proposal but would add complexity.
When officials met with you on 23 June 2022 you outlined that the volumes involved were less important than policy principles at the heart of the decision. These principles are: (1) protecting the contributory element of dual claims (your proposal) and (2) applying the full sanction to all sanctioned claimants (the original proposal). I informed you at our meeting, that the previous Secretary of State had decided to proceed with the original proposal.
The Department has, so far, been unable to finalise a realistic delivery date for the digital and process changes required to implement the proposal due to resource constraints.
The Department remains focused on delivering priority items that have the greatest impact on services and claimants, including Move to UC and Fraud & Error reduction initiatives.
Therefore, at this time, delivering the changes required to enable a fairer application of dual claim sanctions would require stopping or slowing progress on these other priorities. Given the small number of people impacted, it is unlikely that the dual claims sanction change will be delivered in the near future.
Thank you again for your interest in this issue and I look forward to working with you in future.
Yours sincerely,
Guy Opperman
MP Minister for Employment