Some Brits on Universal Credit have been denied a vital cost of living payment – because they were sanctioned by the Jobcentre.
Boris Johnson said the £326 lump sum in July would show more than 8million Brits “we are on their side”.
But guidance to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff, seen by the Mirror, told them to refuse the payment to certain claimants if their benefits were stopped.
Campaigners demanded the DWP tear up the “outrageous” and “ill-judged” decision as energy bills could top £5,000 a year.
New figures exposing the scale of sanctions will be published tomorrow. Single people’s benefits are either cut back or stopped entirely if Jobcentres decide they have fallen foul of rules.
This includes if work coaches decide they “fail to take all reasonable actions to find paid work”.
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Guidance to DWP staff said people whose Universal Credit was stopped entirely due to a sanction in a “qualifying period” – which lasted a month earlier this Spring – “will not be entitled to a cost of living payment”. This is called a “nil award”.
The sanction rule was not mentioned in general advice to Brits about the cost-of-living payment on the government’s website.
But the DWP confirmed it after being approached by the Mirror.
That website said people weren’t eligible if they had a “nil award” due to their earnings. But it made no mention of sanctions, and said if people had a nil award due to rent or debts being deducted, they “might still be eligible”.
Marc Francis of poverty charity the Z2K Trust demanded the DWP think again.
He said: “These one-off payments are designed first and foremost to ensure people aren’t left unable to afford to put food on the table food or freezing in their homes.”
He added said sanctions were “notoriously over-zealous”, and many people hit “can’t find help” to appeal, “so just end up going without or turning to the local food bank.”
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Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said it was “outrageous” adding: “This decision compounds the distress sanctions cause, inflicting significant damage on people’s mental health.
“The DWP must urgently review this decision and administer the cost-of-living payment to those affected as soon as possible to prevent unnecessary suffering and harm.”
The DWP has not said how many people missed out on a cost of living payment.
But official figures indicate it could be anywhere between the hundreds and tens of thousands.
Sanctions rose as Jobcentres reopened after Covid and 78,672 Universal Credit households were subject to one in February 2022.
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That’s up from 75,059 in January, 64,893 in December, 49,724 in November, 40,826 in October, 26,658 in September, 18,026 last August and 8,752 last July.
They deduct up to 100% of single claimants’ Universal Credit, or 50% for those who claim as part of a couple.
Official figures do not state how many sanctioned people were single, so we do not know how many lost their cost of living payment.
Some people are also sanctioned for less than a month. They last 28 days for “medium level” sanctions, 91 days for “higher level” sanctions, or 182 days for a repeat offence of a higher level sanction.
People were assessed for the £326 based on whether they received any UC in a month-long bracket that ended between April 26 and May 25.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We’ve always been clear that those with a Universal Credit ‘nil award’ during the qualifying period won’t be eligible for the first instalment of the Cost of Living Payment.
“However, those with a ‘nil award’ due to a sanction could be entitled retrospectively if the sanction is successfully appealed.
“For those who didn’t receive the first instalment, our £37bn support package provides other help including a £400 energy payment, available to all households.
“People are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason, to meet the conditions to which they agreed.
“Sanctions can often quickly be resolved by re-engaging with the Jobcentre and attending the next appointment.”