DWP claimants warned 'there will be sanctions' for refusing to work

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The DWP could hand out penalties to benefit claimants who are able to work if they turn down job offers, a Cabinet minister has warned.

Work and pensions secretary 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 is set to honour the £3 billion reduction in welfare expenditure over five years initially pledged by the previous Conservative government.

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. READ MORE: New petition from WASPI calls for State Pension age compensation scheme by March for all women Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Ms Kendall stopped short of specifying Labour’s approach, saying only that the government would be launching its own measures.