DWP to ban 4 benefits including state pension for certain crimes - list

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden has announced people on 4 benefits will have them axed - including state pension if convicted of certain crimes. In a statement to Parliament, Mr McFadden said the Department for Work and Pensions will today lay regulations that will remove benefit entitlement from serious and violent offenders detained in hospital. The DWP has confirmed that the benefits impacted are universal credit, employment and support allowance, state pension and pension credit.

Mr McFadden said: “In January 2026, I announced my intention to remove a loophole in the benefits system where offenders detained in hospitals have their living costs met by the NHS while also claiming benefits. This legislation delivers on that promise. “The regulations will remove entitlement from individuals convicted of specified serious offences and with either a section 37 order under the Mental Health Act 1983 or a section 57A order under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

It will apply to claimants in receipt of one of four benefits; universal credit, employment and support allowance, state pension and pension credit.” He said that the change was limited to certain offences: “The benefits system plays a crucial role in providing a safety net for millions of people, but it cannot be right that convicted serious offenders can indefinitely receive benefit payments while they are detained in hospital. “The Government have taken a proportionate approach by limiting the change to offences that involve death, serious personal injury or sexual harm.

The prescribed offences would typically lead to a custodial sentence, where individuals would generally be unable to receive benefits. The change will not affect those who are unfit to plead or detained in hospital under either a civil order or an offence not included in the regulations. “It is crucial that the benefits system can be trusted by the public and that support is going to those who need it most.” Under the current system, an offender can be paid over £800 a month in Universal Credit – amounting to thousands in taxpayer cash over several years.

The proposed change is expected to save tens of millions of pounds each year. The change will stop hundreds of offenders receiving benefits from early next year – those already in hospital and future cases, DWP officials said. The decision to remove benefits from serious offenders will not affect people currently detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, who have not committed any offence. While the change only comes into effect early next year, it will apply to both existing and future cases from the point that the regulations come into force, regardless of when their conviction was made.

The change is expected affect some 2,500 offenders already in hospital and approximately 200 a year in future. The Regulations will apply to individuals subject to a Section 37 order under the Mental Health Act 1983 and a Section 57A order under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 Manslaughter (whether voluntary or involuntary) Attempted murder Wounding (etc) with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) Rape Assault by penetration Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent (aggravated – with penetration) Rape of a child under 13 Sexual assault of a child under 13 (aggravated – with penetration) Causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity (aggravated – with penetration) Sexual activity with a child Familial sexual offences (sexual activity with a child family member) (offender 18 or over) Familial sexual offences (inciting a child family member to engage in sexual activity) (offender 18 or over) Murder is not included because a Hospital Order is not an available disposal for the offence of murder which attracts a mandatory life sentence.