{"id":15279,"date":"2018-05-23T16:44:08","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T15:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15279"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:44","slug":"universal-credit-failed-sanctions-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15279","title":{"rendered":"‘Hostile environment’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When the new benefits sanctions regime was first introduced in 2012, prime minister David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Conservative government proudly declared it was ending the so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsomething for nothing culture.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Six years later, the untold damage the system has wrought \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the disabled, for struggling families, for those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost their jobs through no fault of their own \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has been widely reported.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But after millions of people have had their social security entitlements stopped, suffering hunger, homelessness and in some cases even death<\/a>, was it all, in the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes, worth it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That is to say, have benefits sanctions worked on their own terms \u00e2\u20ac\u201c have they, as the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has said for years, really got people back into work?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Do I eat or do I have light?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The most comprehensive study ever conducted on benefits sanctions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c undertaken by researchers from six different UK universities over a five-year period — was published this week (May 22), and their answer is a resounding no<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Welfare Conditionality project<\/a>, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, tracked hundreds of people who were sanctioned to discover how they fared both in the short- and long-term over multiple years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBenefit sanctions do little to enhance people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivation to prepare for, seek or enter paid work. They routinely trigger profoundly negative personal, financial, health and behavioural outcomes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the study concluded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Researchers spoke to people who were instantly cut off from basic necessities like food and heating after being sanctioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015b[My gas and electric] fell into that much arrears,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 a single parent they interviewed recounted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was without heating for ages\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6I pawned everything I had\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re literally going, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Do I eat or do I have light?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Others dropped out of the system altogether because being subjected to jobcentre harassment and needless box-ticking exercises embedded in the sanctions regime had become too much \u00e2\u20ac\u201c one person interviewed for the project turned to dealing drugs instead.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDrug dealing. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I did\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6That sanction\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 turned me to crime and making my money,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the man, now homeless, told the researchers. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd then after that I was making that much money I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need their [benefit] money.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many people reported that both their physical and mental health badly deteriorated after having been sanctioned, while others were pushed into poverty and in some cases total destitution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Universal Credit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The introduction of Universal Credit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which rolls six benefits, including housing benefit, child tax credits, and working tax credits among others, into one \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has amplified the cruel sanctions regime. Now, even people in work can be sanctioned if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t working enough hours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One Universal Credit claimant highlighted the absurdity of being threatened with more sanctions if he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find more work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI go down [to JobCentre Plus] and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Look, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m doing 16 hours with more hours promised.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122[The work coach says] \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Well you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to look for another job,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got my employer on one hand wants me to do mornings and would like me to do an evening shift, you know. I never get told what day I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m working. So, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go to another employer and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Look\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6I can probably fit in another 20 hours work a week but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know when I can work for you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Universal Credit has been riddled with many other problems beyond sanctions, Unite has highlighted. Universal Claimants must apply online \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with no other option \u00e2\u20ac\u201c leaving many elderly, disabled, rural or computer illiterate people unable to claim.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because the housing benefit portion of Universal Credit isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t paid directly to landlords, rent arrears and even evictions have become common. And in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out, local foodbanks have seen a 50 per cent increase in their use, while areas as yet untouched by the Universal Credit roll out have only seen a 13 per cent rise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day of action<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite is now calling for Universal Credit to be stopped completely, and is mobilising trade unionists, activists and campaigners across the UK tomorrow for a national day of action to send a loud and clear message that the cruelty must end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUniversal Credit is creating a hostile environment for people who claim it and is not fit for purpose and should be stopped,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said head of Unite Community Liane Groves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDespite knowing that Universal Credit causes serious problems for those claiming it the government is ploughing ahead regardless while claimants are descending further into debt, relying on food banks and getting into rent arrears and in many cases are being evicted from their homes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn order to claim Universal Credit claimants need an internet connection which many simply can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is demanding a cut in the long waits to receive money, for people to be able to apply in job centres, not just online, better help for people when the system fails, landlords to be paid directly to avoid people getting into rent arrears and losing their homes, an end to benefit sanctions for people in and out of work.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Join us for our Stop Universal Credit day of action \u00e2\u20ac\u201c find a local event near you here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the new benefits sanctions regime was first introduced in 2012, prime minister David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Conservative government proudly declared it was ending the so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsomething for nothing culture.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165   Six years later, the untold damage the system has wrought \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the disabled, for struggling families, for those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost their jobs through no fault […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[491,462],"wps_subtitle":"Unite calls to stop Universal Credit amid failed sanctions regime","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15279"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26172,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15279\/revisions\/26172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}