Benefit sanction variations unacceptable

A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has urged the Department for Work & Pensions to review the use of sanctions.

The Department for Work & Pensions uses sanctions to encourage people to meet conditions for receiving benefits, such as finding employment.

Despite recognising that the use of sanctions can encourage people into work, the committee found that the use of sanctions has ‘increased in severity in recent years and can have serious consequences’ - such as debt, rent arrears, and homelessness.

The committee also highlighted the inconsistent imposition of sanctions by different jobcentres and providers. Some Work Programme providers refer twice as many people for sanctions as other providers in the same area, and the PAC has claimed that the Department for Work & Pensions does not know whether vulnerable claimants receive the protection to which they are entitled.

Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC, said: "Benefit sanctions have been used as a blunt instrument by government. It is an article of faith for the Department for Work & Pensions that sanctions encourage people into work. The reality is far more complex and the potential consequences severe.

“Sanctions and exemptions are being applied inconsistently, with little understanding of why. Some people who receive sanctions stop claiming without finding work, adding to pressures on other services. Suspending people’s benefit payments can lead them into debt, rent arrears and homelessness, which can undermine their efforts to find work.

“A third of people surveyed by the charity Crisis who were claiming Housing Benefit had this stopped in error because of a sanction – an appalling situation to be faced with. All of this highlights the need for a far more nuanced approach to sanctioning claimants, with meaningful measures in place to monitor its effectiveness. As a priority the government must make better use of data and evidence from the frontline to improve its understanding of what best supports both claimants and the interests of taxpayers in general."