The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) suppressed an internal report from August 2020 that found benefit sanctions slow claimants' progress into work and push them into lower-paying jobs, leaving them hundreds of pounds worse off annually. The report, released under freedom of information laws, contradicts the government's aggressive promotion of sanctions as a tool to force claimants into employment.
Experts condemned the government for withholding the evidence for over two years while overseeing a surge in sanctions on Universal Credit claimants. David Webster, a Glasgow University academic who secured the report's release, said: 'The DWP’s internal study shows that for the average claimant, sanctions damage both work prospects and earnings. You can see why ministers wanted to keep the report quiet.'
The report indicates that sanctions do not significantly increase job-finding rates but may shift people towards lower-paying work, altering their Universal Credit work group without ending their claim. Rachel Casey of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation noted: 'It takes them longer to find a job, and those who do find a job after being sanctioned earn less than those who aren’t sanctioned.'
The DWP has defended sanctions, with Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride telling MPs he was 'satisfied overall' with the system, citing a 'deterrent effect.' A DWP spokesperson added: 'Sanctions – 97.6% of which are applied when claimants fail to attend mandatory appointments – are measured and proportionate.' However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies questioned the study's robustness, warning that sanctions create 'a lot of hardship' by removing a large fraction of income from low-income households.
