Nearly all Universal Credit claimants who were sanctioned by their work coaches in the past year lost money because they didn't turn up for or participate in a mandatory interview, the latest figures from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) show.
The statistics show 541,000 Universal Credit claimants were sanctioned in the year to January 2023, with 530,000 of those penalised for failing to keep appointments. This represents nearly 98% of total sanctions. The figures represent a very small fall from the peak, but the number of claimants sanctioned is still more than double what it was pre-pandemic. In January 2020 18,462 claimants were sanctioned, but in January 2023, the figure was 44,888.
At the end of last year, a debate on the DWP policy on benefit sanctions heard that Jobcentres have been told to “up their game” and increase the number of sanctions they are handing to those receiving out-of-work benefits. And one MP said he had even heard that there was inter-office competition, with DWP offices pushing each other to achieve higher sanction rates.
