The amount of Universal Credit claimants being sanctioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has soared, increasing by a factor of 11 in the past five months.
The "extremely worrying" rise comes as families across the UK face rising living costs and skyrocketing energy bills this spring — with benefits only rising by 3.1%.
Sanctions — which refer to the reduction or in some cases the complete removal of an individual's benefits — were scrapped during the first covid lockdown.
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They were reinstated in the summer of 2020, though remained low for a time, as reported by The Mirror.
However, they have since skyrocketed after the DWP reintroduced face-to-face Jobcentre appointments in April 2021 — as people who miss a meeting face sanctions.
The volume of people claiming Universal Credit who have been sanctioned increased from 4,274 in June to 49,944 in November 2021.
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 does not include people claiming Universal Credit who are not in ‘conditionality’ groups, such as severely disabled people.
It follows the news that the UK Government will be introducing even tougher rules, with claimants facing a sanction after four weeks if they refuse a job outside their chosen field, which could push sanctions higher.
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.”
Anti-austerity activist Charlotte Hughes stated that 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.”
The significant rise in the number of sanctions comes even as the number of people claiming Universal Credit has fallen following 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,” added 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%)
