The number of people in West Dunbartonshire having their benefits sanctioned has doubled since before the pandemic.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures show 164 people on Universal Credit (UC) across the area were carrying a sanction in February. That was 4.7 percent of claimants, and up from 82 (three percent) in the same month of 2020, pre-pandemic.
Reasons for people having their benefits reduced include not attending a work-related interview, failing to start a new role, or refusing a job offer.
The length and severity of the punishment depends on the reason for it being imposed and whether someone has been penalised before.
The cuts were largely halted in the early stages of the pandemic as job centres shut their doors and the UK Government focused on dealing with soaring demand from new claimants. However, the number of people across Britain seeing their UC claim reduced started rising again last summer and has now hit record levels.
In Scotland, the sharpest increase in UC sanctions was in Perth and Kinross, where the number more than quadrupled from 42 to 171, or 5.6 percent of those who could have them applied.
UK Government ministers recently announced new rules for some jobseekers on UC meaning they will have to search for jobs outside their chosen field from the fourth week of their claim, instead of after three months, and can be punished for failing to.
The changes come as labour market shortages cause problems for various industries such as the aviation sector, which has struggled to meet demand from travellers as Covid restrictions ease.
The Office for National Statistics also recently revealed there were more job vacancies than unemployed people in the UK for the first time on record earlier this year.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We understand that people are struggling with rising prices which is why we have acted to protect the eight million most vulnerable British families through at least £1,200 of direct payments this year.
“Sanction levels are proportionate to our larger pandemic caseload and people are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason, to meet the conditions they agreed to. Sanctions can be resolved by re-engaging with the Jobcentre and attending the next appointment.”
