Benefit sanctions slow people’s progress into work, says report Coffey suppressed

Thérèse Coffey blocked the release of the embarrassing report on the grounds it was ‘not in the public interest’. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

Benefit sanctions slow down claimants’ progress into work and are likely to force them into taking lower-paying jobs that leave them hundreds of pounds a year worse off, according to an internal report that the government tried to suppress.

The findings of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) report echo a series of independent studies showing sanctions – in effect fines amounting to hundreds of pounds imposed on claimants for supposed infringements of benefit rules – are ineffective as a way of getting people into jobs or to work more hours.