Benefit sanctions have become harsher amid the cost of living crisis according to newly released government data
Benefit sanctions imposed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have become harsher amid the cost of living crisis, according to newly released government data – with the average penalty lasting a week longer in 2023 than in 2019.
According to data on the ‘duration’ of sanctions published last week, the average – or mean – length of a universal credit sanction rose from 38 days in 2019 to 45 days between January and November 2023, the most recent figures available.
The sanctions duration data is measured by the month in which the sanction ended. Just under 6% of sanctions that ended in 2019 lasted more than six months – but that rose to 10% of sanctions that ended in 2023.
Read the full article on the Big Issue website – www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/dwp-benefit-sanctions-tougher-cost-of-living-crisis/
