Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

Someone on hear asked how would they get to the job centre or look for work if lock down happens:

The Department for Work and Pensions is expected to announce later today that it is suspending welfare conditionality rules, including for universal credit, to ensure that benefit payments are not interrupted and to ease pressure on job centres.

All face-to-face jobcentre interviews with claimants will be suspended, as will the requirement that job-seekers demonstrate that they have spend up to 35 hours a week looking for work, as the DWP moves to adapt the benefit system to cope with the economic impact of coronavirus.

Tens of thousands of people will be expected to enter the benefit system over the next few days as businesses lay off workers because of virus-related shut downs in sectors such as hospitality and retail.

Under current rules claimants are required to sign up to a range of stringent requirements as a condition of receiving benefits. Failure to adhere to the rules results in financial sanctions, including having benefits withdrawn for at least four weeks and in some cases up to six months,

The measures, which come days after the DWP announced that face to face assessments for disability benefits were to be put on hold for three months, is to ensure claimants do not feel obliged to travel into job centres because they fear they will lose their benefits if they do not attend.

The Guardian has seen evidence that local job centres have already been abandoning benefit conditionality requirements ahead of a national announcement, possibly because of pressure on staffing at local job centres.

From the 13.14 comment on
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/19/uk-coronavirus-live-boris-johnson-london-lockdown-williamson-refuses-to-rule-out-government-putting-london-in-lockdown-by-weekend