Serious offenders detained in hospital will no longer receive benefits

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.

As part of ongoing action to put fairness back at the heart of the welfare system, this intervention will stop hundreds of offenders receiving benefits from early next year – those already in hospital and future cases. 

Those transferred to mental health hospitals from prison are already banned from claiming. The regulations laid today will extend this to mental health hospital patients that are guilty of a dozen serious offences – focusing on violent and sexual offences.

The move will end the so-called “double provision” where people detained under a hospital order can receive benefits despite already having their bed and board fully funded by the taxpayer through the NHS.

Families of victims in high-profile cases - including the loved ones of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche and the victims of the Nottingham attacks, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates - have bravely highlighted the loophole which sees offenders continuing to receive benefit payments.

The change comes after extensive engagement between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and a range of experts and victims directly affected. 

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden said:

We said we’d act to tackle this gross unfairness and we’re delivering on that promise.