Faith communities throughout the land, because of their work with people in need, are only too aware of the devastating impact of benefit sanctions on some of the poorest and most disadvantaged mem
Faith communities throughout the land, because of their work with people in need, are only too aware of the devastating impact of benefit sanctions on some of the poorest and most disadvantaged members of society. They now have an opportunity to let the government know just what that impact is, through the National Audit Office (NAO).
It hasn’t been widely publicised, but the NAO is undertaking a study of benefit sanctions, which it says will, “examine whether the Department for Work and Pensions is achieving value for money from its administration of benefit sanctions. This includes how benefit sanctions fit with the intended aims and outcomes of DWP’s wider working age employment policy, whether sanctions are being implemented in line with policy and whether use of sanctions is leading to the intended outcomes for claimants.”
The Trussell Trust recently released figures to show that foodbank use continues to rise. Last year people in crisis were supplied with food aid 1,109,309 times, and almost a third of this went to children. According to the Trust, “benefit delays and changes remain the biggest causes of foodbank use, accounting for 42 percent of all referrals.”
Unfortunately the Trust does not record benefit sanctions as a specific category within this number. ‘Benefit delays and changes’ can sound relatively innocuous, the result of inefficiency perhaps, rather than the deliberate deprivation of income which is a benefit sanction. If we had specific figures for how many people had been unable to buy food, how many children had gone hungry because of a deliberately punitive action by a government department, then we would have a better picture of the social policy disaster that is the current sanctions regime. And of course, we mustn’t forget that these figures are from the Trussell Trust alone. There are many independent foodbanks throughout the UK – this only reflects a fraction of the problem.
So this study by the National Audit Office is a chance to let the government and wider public know about the harm being caused by benefit sanctions. If you have any information or experience in this area, please share it with the NAO. It is easy to submit your views and experiences to the study. Just go to the contact page here, select welfare and benefits as the topic, and put FAO Colin Ross or Max Tse in the subject field. Alternatively, email Colin Ross the audit manager directly at [email protected]
The study will run until the Autumn, so there is time to think and collect information if necessary.
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© Bernadette Meaden has written about political, religious and social issues for some years, and is strongly influenced by Christian Socialism, liberation theology and the Catholic Worker movement. She is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor. You can follow her on Twitter: @BernaMeaden