MoneyDepartment for Work and PensionsHow much your sanction is depends on your situationNicholas Dawson07:04, 04 Sep 2026A senior DWP minister has spoken about future change to the sanctions that can apply to benefit claimants. Your payments can be reduced if you fail to comply with the requirements to receive your benefits.‌DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms spoke to the Work and Pensions Committee about how these sanctions work. He told the MPs: "The department does recognise that taking a a one-size-fits-all approach to people coming into the department is not the right approach. And so our aim is to tailor the requirements that are made of people to their individual circumstances, supporting people to engage with the department, making sure that safeguards are in place for those who are vulnerable or have additional support needs."‌'Multiple checks'He said there is a careful process that is undertaken before a sanction is applied to a particular claimant, and that there are plans for changes to the system. Sir Stephen explained: "Where sanctions are considered, and sometimes they have to be, as I think the committee will recognize, then there are multiple checks before a sanction is imposed.‌State Pensioners to face major tax change"There's independent decision making, and we are looking at testing more personalised approaches still for the future."What sanctions can apply to your benefit payments?If you are on Universal Credit, the sanction reduces the amount of Universal Credit standard allowance you receive. You will still get any extra amounts you get on top of this as per usual.‌This is how the sanction works:If you fail to meet a requirement and a sanction is imposed, you will get a journal message in your Universal Credit account or a letter to inform youThe message will outline how much your payment will be reduced by and how long the sanction may be for, and what you need to do to end it. It will also say what you failed to doYour payments will be reduced by 100 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance rate, for each day the sanction is in placeIf you are aged 16 or 17, or if your only responsibility is to attend appointments, your payments will be cut by 40 per cent of your standard allowance rate for each dayIf your payments are already reduced due to your earnings or other income and there is not enough in your entitlement to take the full sanction amount, your payments will be reduced to zero and the sanction will be regarded as fully applied.‌How much are the payment sanctions for Universal Credit?Given the current standard allowance rates, the daily sanction rates are:Single claimants under 25100% sanction - £11.10‌40% sanction - £4.40Single claimants 25 or over100% sanction - £13.90‌40% sanction - £5.50Joint claimants both under 25 (per sanctioned claimant)100% sanction - £8.60‌40% sanction - £3.40Joint claimants, one or both 25 or over (per sanctioned claimant)100% sanction - £10.90Article continues below40% sanction - £4.30.'With great care'Sir Stephen also told the committee: "I do accept that, inevitably, there are sanctions in the system, and sometimes those sanctions will be imposed on on people who are vulnerable. The department has to do that with great care, and that's what we're aiming to do."Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Department for Work and PensionsPIPUniversal CreditDisability benefitsChild benefitBenefits