The number of benefit sanctions imposed on Universal Credit claimants has skyrocketed, rising elevenfold in just five months.
The shocking rise comes as millions of people are hit by rising living costs, with energy bills, National Insurance and inflation all surging this Spring while benefits rise by only 3.1%.
Sanctions were suspended in the first Covid lockdown, and remained low at first after being restored in summer 2020.
But they have soared since the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) brought back face-to-face Jobcentre appointments last April, with people who miss a session having their benefits cut or stopped.
The number of Universal Credit claimants with a sanction rose from 4,274 in June 2021 to 49,944 in November 2021, the most recent month available.
- Scroll down for the full figures and join the debate in the comments. Have you received an unfair sanction? Tell us on webnews@mirror.co.uk.
The total number of people sanctioned across the whole month will be higher than the official figures, as they are taken on a particular day each month.
The data also excludes Universal Credit claimants who are not in ‘conditionality’ groups, such as severely disabled people.
And Tory ministers are now introducing even tighter rules, with claimants facing a sanction after four weeks if they refuse a job outside their chosen field, which could push sanctions higher.
Anti-austerity activist Charlotte Hughes warned it was “extremely worrying as we face a huge cost of living crisis putting energy and food prices up”.
She added: “Sanctions are a cruel and unnecessary tool to use against those that are already poor and living in poverty.
“Benefit sanctions ensure a person or a family are dragged further into poverty, making them have to choose whether they can eat or heat for the duration of their sanction.
“Sanctioning claimants creates a never ending circle of poverty and does not encourage anyone to look for more work.”
Dr David Webster of the University of Glasgow, who has researched the impact of sanctions for years, said: “The impact of a sanction often lasts a long time.
“If it causes a crisis in the family, or if it leads to somebody being evicted, the effects are pretty long-lasting.
“Sanctions drive people further into debt, because obviously people can’t stop spending money altogether – they have to find something to eat and so on.
“They have to keep spending money, so if money isn’t coming in they’re going to have to borrow it, and they get further in debt.
“That has damaging effects on their mental health, because there’s all the anxiety and stress. And for a minority of people there’s obviously the question of potential eviction.”
The sharp rise comes even as the overall number of Universal Credit claimants has fallen with the reopening of the economy.
DWP figures this week show 2.37% of claimants were subject to a sanction in November, a similar proportion to before the pandemic. That is up from 1.89% in October and 1.2% in September.
“If you look at the trend, there’s really virtually no slackening in the pace of increase in that percentage – it’s heading skywards,” said Dr Webster.
The DWP’s recently announced Way to Work scheme will soon force claimants to look for jobs outside their chosen field after just four weeks on Universal Credit.
A DWP spokesperson said: “With a record number of jobs available, it’s right that people who can work are encouraged to take up suitable roles through our Way to Work scheme. As well as being good for mental wellbeing, people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits.
“People are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason, to meet the conditions which they agreed to, and the latest data shows the sanctions rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.”
Sanctions by month
Figure is the number of people on the Universal Credit full service receiving a sanction on the second Thursday of each month.
- November 2021: 49,944 (2.37%)
- October 2021: 41,106 (1.89%)
- September 2021: 26,782 (1.2%)
- August 2021: 18,114 (0.78%)
- July 2021: 8,758 (0.37%)
- June 2021: 4,274 (0.18%)
- May 2021: 3,834 (0.15%)
- April 2021: 3,835 (0.14%).....
- February 2020: 31,132 (2.36%)
- January 2020: 32,907 (2.63%)
- December 2019: 34,473 (2.8%)
