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You are here: Home / Archives for sanctions

sanctions

DWP cannot say how many disabled people it is sanctioning, despite plans for conditions on many more claimants

By John Pring on 27th March 2025 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP cannot say how many disabled people it is sanctioning, despite plans for conditions on many more claimants
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted it has no figures to show how many disabled people who cannot work are having their benefits “sanctioned”, just as the government announced reforms that will expose many more to strict conditions. […]

Chair of government’s ‘economic inactivity’ board says he wants to ‘ramp down’ use of benefit sanctions and strict conditions on sick and disabled people

By John Pring on 24th October 2024 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Chair of government’s ‘economic inactivity’ board says he wants to ‘ramp down’ use of benefit sanctions and strict conditions on sick and disabled people
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The academic tasked by ministers with leading efforts to tackle “spiralling” levels of “economic inactivity” has said he wants to “rethink welfare” by “ramping down” the use of strict conditions and sanctions on sick and disabled people. The comments by Professor […]

DWP white paper offers mix of ‘human catastrophe’ and overdue reforms

By John Pring on 16th March 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP white paper offers mix of ‘human catastrophe’ and overdue reforms
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Nearly four years after announcing plans to reform support for disabled people, work and pensions ministers have published proposals for sweeping changes to disability benefits and employment support. Some of the proposals – including plans to scrap the work capability assessment […]

Coffey scrapped plan for independent review of sanctions, DWP admits

By John Pring on 26th January 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Coffey scrapped plan for independent review of sanctions, DWP admits
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The government abandoned proposals for an independent review of its much-criticised sanctions policy, the latest example of how a minister watered down plans to prevent suicides and learn lessons from the deaths of benefit claimants. The decision to further limit the […]

DWP’s ‘aggressive’ post-2010 attitude to sanctions ‘is back with a vengeance’

By John Pring on 15th December 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP’s ‘aggressive’ post-2010 attitude to sanctions ‘is back with a vengeance’
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The “aggressive attitude” on benefit sanctions that was taken by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the coalition years of 2013 to 2015 is “back with a vengeance”, MPs have been warned. A debate on DWP’s policy on benefit […]

Coronavirus: Return of benefit sanctions in middle of pandemic ‘is barbaric’

By John Pring on 2nd July 2020 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Coronavirus: Return of benefit sanctions in middle of pandemic ‘is barbaric’
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Disabled campaigners have described the government’s decision to reintroduce benefit sanctions – in the middle of a pandemic – as “barbaric” and “life threatening”. The decision meant an end to the three-month suspension of benefit sanctions and conditionality* in England, Scotland […]

ESA sanctions fall close to zero, but concerns remain over JSA and universal credit

By John Pring on 20th February 2020 Category: Benefits and Poverty

ESA sanctions fall close to zero, but concerns remain over JSA and universal credit
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The number of disabled people on the main out-of-work disability benefit who are being sanctioned by the government for failing to meet strict conditions has fallen close to zero, following years of criticism of the harsh regime. Department for Work and […]

DWP sanctions system discriminated against disabled people for a decade, figures show

By John Pring on 25th July 2019 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP sanctions system discriminated against disabled people for a decade, figures show
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The government’s mainstream benefit sanctions regime has been discriminating against disabled people throughout nearly the whole of the last decade, according to new figures secured by Disability News Service (DNS). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures, obtained through a […]

UN poverty report: Newton refuses to apologise for misleading MPs about report

By John Pring on 22nd November 2018 Category: Politics

UN poverty report: Newton refuses to apologise for misleading MPs about report
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The minister for disabled people is refusing to apologise to MPs for misleading them about a report by a UN human rights expert on the UK’s record on causing and addressing extreme poverty. Professor Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on […]

Minister says stopping benefit sanctions would do disabled people ‘a great disservice’

By John Pring on 8th November 2018 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Minister says stopping benefit sanctions would do disabled people ‘a great disservice’
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A minister has suggested that the government would be doing a “great disservice” to disabled people if it stopped sanctioning their out-of-work benefits. The comment by Alok Sharma, the employment minister, came in correspondence with the Commons work and pensions committee […]

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