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<p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,
the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and
we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the
right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation
under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">From
17<sup>th</sup> March, we suspended all face-to-face assessments for health and disability
benefits. For existing claimants, we have also automatically extended awards and suspended
any new review or reassessment activity, except where claimants notify us of changes
to their needs that may result in an increase to their award. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We
have temporarily suspended the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments
for all claimants in Universal Credit, Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA), Employment Support
Allowance (ESA) and Income Support. This means that claimants are not expected to
contact their Jobcentre Plus while this temporary suspension is in place. They will
continue to receive benefits as normal and they will not be sanctioned for not taking
part in interviews with Jobcentres.</ins></p>
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