This week figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed some of Crisis’ worst fears – that benefit sanctions punishing some of the most vulnerable in our society are on the increase. Between January and March of this year, 16,000 sanctions were handed down to ill and disabled people on employment and support allowance. While DWP says some of these decisions may be overturned, we know that for homeless and other vulnerable people, jumping through the countless hoops of the review process can be exceptionally hard.
Sanctions are cruel and can leave people utterly destitute – without money even for food and at severe risk of homelessness. Research by Crisis has shown that people who have been sanctioned often resort to borrowing money from family and friends, using food banks or going hungry. They may have to choose between food and heating. For people struggling with illness, disability or with difficult life circumstances, even small changes in household income can have huge consequences. And once someone falls behind on rent and bills it can be almost impossible to get back on track.
For homeless people sanctions make it even harder for them to get back on their feet. Often they will have been sanctioned unfairly or for failing to meet unrealistic expectations. They are also more likely to be sanctioned, with a third of all homeless people claiming jobseeker’s allowance and one in five claiming employment and support allowance having been sanctioned compared to three per cent of all claimants.
Many politicians will be rightly horrified by the shocking escalation in the number of sanctions being handed out. But while the system may have intensified under the coalition, we must not forget that Labour has always supported the principle of sanctions too, even if they quibble over their implementation.
Crisis has consistently called for a thorough review of the sanctions regime. Matthew Oakley’s recent report made a welcome appeal to the government to address the catastrophic failures in communication with claimants about the sanctions process. But by his own admission it did not go far enough, neglecting the more significant question of whether the system effectively encourages people into work.
What we now need is a fundamental evaluation of sanctions including the impact they have on levels of hardship and homelessness and whether they do in fact support people into work. We are told that is the intention. Yet without concrete evidence that sanctions work, it is difficult to see how simply withdrawing funds from people at their lowest ebb is going to help them rebuild their lives and get back on their feet. The justification of these measures as a spur to employment seems far outweighed by their devastating impact on people’s lives.
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Matthew Downie is director of policy and external affairs at Crisis
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Photo: Marin Nikolov