NAWRA understands that ITV news are planning another feature about sanctions very shortly.
If NAWRA members have any clients who have been unfairly sanctioned, and who could either be interviewed or be used as part of anonymised case studies, please contact Penny Marshall on 0207 430 4541 or 07876 313 533 asap.
Thanks. And happy new year.
At our Glasgow conference today we heard an impassioned appeal from Dr David Webster, from the University of Glasgow, for the current sanctions regime to be abolished.
Some links to Dr Webster’s research, his presentation at NAWRA and some further resources that may be of use to advisers are available in the members’ area.
A quote from our recent paper on the use of benefits sanctions has been reported in today’s edition of ‘The Guardian’ newspaper.
In our response to the Oakley independent review of Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, we concluded that:
“As a result of the above claimants are experiencing extreme hardship through no fault of their own. NAWRA members report claimants having to use foodbanks, being unable to top up gas or electricity meters, and falling into rent arrears in some cases leading to eviction. Claimants in this level of hardship are in no position to find or maintain work. There is no money for bus fares and maybe even no hot water to get washed. By far the majority of those claimants sanctioned want to find employment but the application of sanctions is actually making it harder to for them to achieve this.”
Our complete, eight page, report can be downloaded from our ‘new resources’ page. The Guardian story can be found here.
