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Sanctions revisited - 2015

We review the sanctions landscape after 12 months of working with the Department for Work and Pensions, alongside Jobcentre Plus and homelessness services, to encourage better practice around sanctions for people who become homeless.

In 2013, our ground-breaking research A High Cost to Pay showed that someone who becomes homeless was ten times more likely to be sanctioned than the general population.

We also demonstrated that certain groups of vulnerable people were particularly likely to be effected.

But in spite of the findings, we had to accept that conditionality around benefits is here to stay. It dates back many years and in this era of almost unprecedented austerity the likelihood is that it will tighten rather than loosen.

However, if the genuine purpose of sanctions is to be a tool for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to ensure people focus on finding work, it must be recognised that a one size fits all approach cannot work, especially for those with other support needs.

Click here for the full blog

 

Channel website: http://www.homelesslink.org.uk

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