Benefit sanctions more likely for minority ethnic claimants, UK data shows

The sanctions have been notorious for putting some claimants into debt and forcing them to use food banks. Photograph: FilippoBacci/Getty Images

Black and minority ethnic benefit claimants are disproportionately likely to be hit with universal credit sanctions – financial penalties typically running into hundreds of pounds – according to official statistics unveiled for the first time.

Black universal credit claimants were 58% more likely to be sanctioned than white claimants, mixed ethnic groups were 72% more likely and Asians 5% more likely, according to the figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).