29688 (2023). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

29688 (2023). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What is the number of sanctions applied for work preparation, if any, imposed on working age main benefit clients since March 2017 by quarter, broken down by ethnicity, age band, gender, and benefit type?

Hon Louise Upston: I refer the member to the attached tables: • Table One: Number of sanctions for working age main benefit clients with or without children for sanction reason ‘preparing for work’ during the period 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2023, by quarter and ethnicity. • Table Two: Number of sanctions for working age main benefit clients with or without children for sanction reason ‘preparing for work’ during the period 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2023, by quarter and age. • Table Three: Number of sanctions for working age main benefit clients with or without children for sanction reason ‘preparing for work’ during the period 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2023, by quarter and gender. • Table Four: Number of sanctions for working age main benefit clients with or without children for sanction reason ‘preparing for work’ during the period 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2023, by quarter and benefit type. This is also my response to written parliamentary question 29689 (2023).