{"id":2987,"date":"2015-02-06T16:07:27","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T16:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2987"},"modified":"2015-02-06T16:07:27","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T16:07:27","slug":"deadly-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2987","title":{"rendered":"Deadly sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The coalition government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s benefits sanctions regime has ravaged the nation, punishing vulnerable people up and down the country for the simple \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcrime\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 of being the victims of a failing economy, an economy the government itself has created.<\/p>\n

 
\nThese sanctions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which see claimants lose their benefits entitlements for often absurd reasons, such as turning up one minute late to a jobcentre appointment or missing an appointment to attend the funeral of a family member \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are not only deeply unfair, they can often be fatal.<\/p>\n

 
\nFreedom of information requests have recently revealed that the Department of Work and Pensions is currently investigating welfare payment decisions of 60 claimants shortly after their deaths<\/a>, which is the first time the DWP itself has recognised that benefits sanctions can kill.<\/p>\n

 
\nBenefits sanctions cut the only remaining lifeline that many unemployed people have \u00e2\u20ac\u201c forcing them into the hundreds of food banks that now serve a quarter of a million people in this country, up from only a few thousand people before 2010.<\/p>\n

 
\nAs Unite Community moved to kick off its campaign against benefits sanctions on Tuesday (February 3), a House of Commons debate the following day examined growing poverty in the UK.<\/a><\/p>\n

 
\nScenes from Kafka<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nDuring the debate, Labour MP Lisa Nandy of Wigan argued that the poverty blighting the nation since the coalition government came to power could be seen as a direct result of a failing benefits system.<\/p>\n

 
\nIndeed, as Nandy pointed out, benefits sanctions were the primary reason that people reported having to turn to food banks for emergency food aid.<\/p>\n

 
\nNandy likened the benefits sanctions regime to scenes from a Kafka novel, where claimants are punished for non-existent crimes.<\/p>\n

 
\nShe told of a man who had been sanctioned after finding temporary work over Christmas. Even though he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d called in to tell the jobcentre the start and finish dates of this work, he was sanctioned because he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t attend the appointment to tell jobcentre staff information he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already given them.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe day of his appointment, the jobcentre was closed. Afterwards, in the month of January, his sanctioned benefits came out to 1p for the entire month, and \u00c2\u014126 for the following month.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHow is someone in this country is meant to live on a penny a month?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Nandy asked.<\/p>\n

 
\nThese sorts of stories are no anomaly, as story after story emerges<\/a> in which claimants are sanctioned for essentially no reason at all.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe absurdity of some of these sanctions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from not looking for work on Christmas Day to not being able to afford to travel to an interview, to even having a heart attack \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are meted out in a high-pressure environment in which jobcentre staff are allegedly being given sanctions targets.<\/a><\/p>\n

 
\nAccording to evidence submitted by the PCS union, jobcentre management has subjected staff to performance reviews if they fail to instigate or approve enough sanctions.<\/p>\n

 
\nAs a former jobcentre adviser noted in the Guardian earlier this week<\/a>:<\/p>\n

 
\nThe pressure was incredible. Advisers were actively encouraged to impose sanctions (along the lines of \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsanction of the month\u00e2\u20ac\u0165) to contribute to the points system that ranks jobcentre offices. It was often for stupid reasons.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd it was happening all the time, she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bA customer maybe would be a little bit late or would phone in and the message wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t passed on. It was very distressing to have customers literally without food, without heat, without resources and these are unwell [and] disabled customers.<\/p>\n

 
\nOut of touch<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nAs the House of Commons debate raged on, Nandy told dozens of stories in which sanctioned claimants were unfairly cut off from food, heating and all of life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s essentials.<\/p>\n

 
\nMeanwhile, Tory MPs showed their true colours and just how out of touch they are with the realities of vulnerable people.<\/p>\n

 
\nAddressing Nandy, who had just recounted how a learning disabled man who is unable to tell the time was sanctioned for being four minutes to a jobcentre appointment, Conservative MP Mark Spencer retorted:<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is important that those who are seeking employment learn the discipline of timekeeping, which is an important part of securing and keeping a job.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nNoting that several Tory MPs had turned up a few minutes late to the debate but were still allowed to participate, Nandy denounced Spencer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s condescending remarks.<\/p>\n

 
\nIt got only worse \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Spencer later made the claim, dismissing Nandy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concern that nutritious food is often unaffordable, that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcarrots and potatoes are actually the cheapest sources of food avoidable.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nBut in Toryland, comments like these are the norm \u00e2\u20ac\u201c recall life peer Baroness Anne Jenkins pronouncement that poor people go hungry because they \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how to cook\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/a>. Or when then-education secretary Michael Gove claimed food bank users had only themselves to blame for \u00e2\u20ac\u015bnot being able to manage their finances.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nSending a message<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nThe farce that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s become this government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s benefits sanctions regime must be stopped, argues Unite.<\/p>\n

 
\nIn an effort to raise awareness, Unite Community\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign launched this week will culminate in a national day of action on March 19.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want to send a message to Esther McVey and Westminster that the government is failing to support vulnerable people in our society,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said head of Unite Community Liane Groves. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMore needs to be done to support us all in time of need \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not make personal situations worse.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThursday 19 March is a national day of action to highlight the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098shocking\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 impact of government benefit sanctions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we must join forces to stop this now before more people are forced into poverty,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 
\nTo find out more about how you can participate in the campaign, including signing a petition, sharing your story, and attending a March 19 event near you, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The coalition government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s benefits sanctions regime has ravaged the nation, punishing vulnerable people up and down the country for the simple \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcrime\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 of being the victims of a failing economy, an economy the government itself has created.   These sanctions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which see claimants lose their benefits entitlements for often absurd reasons, such as turning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[231,232],"wps_subtitle":"Parliament debates benefits sanctions and their fatal effects","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2989,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions\/2989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}