THE Tories have been urged to scrap sanctions for welfare claimants, with figures showing they were imposed on nearly a quarter of a million people last year.
The SNP’s fair work and employment spokesperson, Chris Stephens MP, said to continue with the regime in the middle of an economic crisis and through Christmas would be “heartless”.
According to research carried out by the House of Commons Library, between April 2019 and March 2020, sanctions were imposed on 222,700 people in the UK in receipt of Universal Credit, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance.
The DWP does not record how much it takes away from households in benefit sanctions.
The system was temporarily suspended at the beginning of the pandemic, but reinstated in July.
Stephens said: “To continue with benefit sanctions in the middle of an economic crisis and through Christmas is heartless. There is no evidence that any length of sanction is beneficial to claimants or helping people into work – there is plenty to show that sanctions push people into hardship and to food banks.”
He added the sanctions were unfair and “punishing the poorest members of society”.
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