Tag: covid 19

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DWP Threatens Powers Of Arrest Also Wanting To Monitor Claimant Spending

Well it appears that the DWP have been busy conducting a survey about the concerning list of proposed new powers they’re wanting to implement.

These include:

Trained DWP investigators having arrest powers


Trained DWP investigators having search and seizure powers


Collecting information about where claimants are spending money


Apparently the DWP research findings reveal that a majority of the public questioned were in favour of every one of these measures being introduced.

Combine this with the constant failing of the DWP system, it’s dire incompetence, lack of any unaccountability and data leaks the very suggestion that staff could arrest claimants and seize their possessions is likely to worry and cause distress for thousands of people.



The draconian suggestion that the DWP could start looking at how claimants spend their money is also going to cause distress.

George Orwell wasn’t wrong was he.

This week the first King’s Speech promised proposals to “reform welfare and support more people into work” whilst giving no details of how they’re going to do this.

It makes me wonder if the above are included in these supposed reforms but I hope they aren’t.

I’d like to question the legality of their proposed plans, is it within the law for the DWP to access claimants bank accounts without permission? Would that in itself be a serious data leak?

If this is allowed will people be sanctioned for spending their money on what the DWP could regard as being ‘wrong’, will they have a list of items that claimants won’t be allowed to purchase?

I’d like to see these proposals being challenged by those that can do this.

It’s hard enough having to live whilst claiming social security, the cost of living and rising energy costs have made everyday living much harder.

Every day more people are forced to access foodbanks for help because they can’t afford to eat.

Winter is also on it’s way and it’s pretty cold where I live, this will result in more people forced to live in cold damp homes

Having a decent quality of life has become a long forgotten thing, a dream of the past and we deserve so much more than this.

The sooner this corrupt government is out of power the better because the public can’t take much more.

Thanks to Benefit And Work for their original reporting of this.

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Thanks to everyone that reads, shares and has supported my blog and campaign throughout the years.

Unfortunately I might have to finish blogging because I can’t afford to pay my website fees this year.

I need to use the web host and plan that I use because it includes everything that my readers and subscribers like.

It’s simple to use and is stress free for myself and of course you.

Any help towards keeping my blog going will be very welcome, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having sleepless nights worrying about this.

Thank you.

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Life in a northern town.

Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.

I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.

Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local  authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.

I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.

It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones. 

It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.

A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise

It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.

Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.

It’s a class war for sure.

Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.

We weren’t wrong were we.

One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.

How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.

Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.

Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.

My photo
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Life in a northern town.

Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.

I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.

Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local  authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.

I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.

It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones. 

It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.

A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise

It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.

Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.

It’s a class war for sure.

Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.

We weren’t wrong were we.

One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.

How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.

Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.

Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.

My photo
Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Government Allows Utility Bill Deductions From Universal Credit Despite Court Ruling Saying It’s Unlawful

The government has been found to be still deducting money from people’s Universal Credit to pay their utility bills, despite them losing a legal case concerning deductions being taken from other benefits.

Roll back to 2022 High Court judges judged that this payment scheme which allows money to be taken from people claiming benefits to pay energy bills, was unlawful if the claimant had not been consulted first.

However it comes as no surprise that the ruling did not cover people claiming Universal Credit. Thousands of people are are still having money taken from their payments without consulting with claimants to see if they can afford to pay them.

This leaves them with far less money to cover their bills and everyday expenses.

The government unsurprisingly says the policy is fair after all their not struggling financially are they.

The government said that the repayment scheme protected people from the potential consequences of not paying bills which includes and is not exclusive to homelessness, service disconnections, potential court actions.

All of which will still occur because taking payment deductions without consulting the claimant will still result in all of the above.

It’s totally unfair, the repayment decisions don’t take into account a person’s ability to afford this and undoubtedly push people further into poverty.


Under the governments repayment policy, private utility companies and others can apply to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for up to 25% of a person’s benefits to be paid directly to them – to repay a debt and meet ongoing usage costs.

That’s a hell of a lot of money to be taken from a persons payments. Many claimants have more than one debt being taken from their payments.

It’s unfair and cruel, it’s already a struggle to get by due to the cost of living and energy payment crises.

Court Ruling


In september last year (2022), a disabled former Leicestershire police constable won a High Court case against the government scheme.

The court ruling is applied to some claimants on legacy benefits eg jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) and income-related employment and support allowance (ESA).

But the devil’s in the detail isn’t it. The ruling does not apply to people claiming Universal Credit.

No surprise really, there’s no way they’d want this to apply to UC claimants. It’s a cruel, harsh system and they don’t want it making life easier for them.

However following another separate legal change, which took effect in April 2022, households receiving Universal Credit. This legal change states that claimants must now be asked to agree to new deductions for ongoing usage costs for electricity or gas.

But once again the DWP is taking full advantage of this decision. It’s a request and not a legal requirement to ask for consent for new deductions for electricity or gas and water bills that are in arrears.

So they give with one hand and take more away. Surprise surprise.

In figures released in November 2022 to the BBC show that around 431,800 automatic deductions were in place from households receiving Universal Credit for utilities bills. A Freedom of Information request by BBC News has found 221,000 of those were for arrears.

In June, the DWP lost an appeal against the High Court ruling and is now allowing people the chance to submit representations before new deductions are made from legacy benefits.

It says it doesn’t plan to retrospectively seek consent from anyone already having money deducted.

The DWP have told BBC news that they don’t make any money from administering third party deductions.

The final costs of contesting the judicial review and appeal with Ms Timson were not yet known.

I expect the government to continue to contest this decision at every step, after all their priorities don’t lie with people living in poverty. There’s always enough money for this

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Wilkos Announces They’re In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration which has put 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

Sadly it’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Sadly Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Sadly Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

My photo

Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Wilkos Announces In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

It’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Regrettably Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

My photo

Ashton Under lyne, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Boris Johnson, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Wilko’s Homeware Expected To Enter Insolvency

Wilkos Homeware also known as Wilkinson’s has announced that they’re expected to enter insolvency because of mounting cost pressures.

The company has officially filed a “notice of intention” to appoint administrators after failing to find enough investment.

Wilkos currently employ approximately 12,000 people within their current 400 UK stores.

Sadly a victim of the cost of living crisis leaving customers, possibly the effects of the pandemic have caused a downturn in profits confirming that stores are unable to pay expensive store leases.

Wilkos announced in January that they had to make the hard decision to close some existing stores with some closing in February.

Wilkos have officially announced that they’re expected to enter insolvency after failing to secure a takeover which would have helped the business to cope with ‘mounting cash pressures.

My thoughts are with all Wilko’s employees that at the time of writing are facing unemployment many of which have worked for the company for years.

My Photo Ashton Under Lyne Store.
My photo Ashton Under Lyne Store.

baby, benefit repayments,, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

New Cruel Universal Credit Sanction Traps Exposed

I’d like to say I was surprised upon hearing about a new sanction trap for Universal Credit (UC)) claimants but I’m not, afterall it’s not exactly the first time they’ve done this to unsuspecting claimants.

This time it’s been disguised as supposed help to move claimants into work.


The new scheme which has surprisingly been condemned by members of the DWP staff union PCS despite jobcentre workers are being offered a £250 ‘incentive’ to implement it.



The newly named Additional Jobcentre Support scheme requires UC claimants being forced by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) to attend their allocated Jobcentre 10 times over a two week period.


Claimants that are unable to attend or failing to participate in one session will highly likely to lead to a sanction.



Undeterred however by the cruelty of this new scheme the DWP are being ‘trialed’ at 60 jobcentres across England and Scotland.

As already proven by myself and many other like-minded campaigners these so called trials are usually the start of a national roll out regardless if they’re successful or not.



To add incentive to roll out this terrible scheme the DWP are offering a £250 bonus in the form of a voucher “to recognise and reward jobcentre teams who furthest exceed their aspirational targets.”

These vouchers will be given to each member of staff in the best performing jobcentres.


No explanation has so far been given as to what the alleged “aspirational targets” consist of and if this involves taking people off benefitif claimants have failed to comply for whatever reason. Nor has the DWP commented if it involves sanctioning claimants or forcing claimants into unsuitable and insecure work.


The PCS union, which represents DWP staff commented saying that they have no doubt that the main purpose of the scheme is to make life harder for claimants, saying:

“Our members will see through this pilot for what it is – a government hellbent on making it more difficult for people to claim benefits and which will increase the risk of poverty for those customers who fall foul of this pilot. Asking more customers to travel more often into jobcentres does nothing to help our staff or their workloads and does nothing to help the customers find the work that they need.”

However as I have already stated this isn’t the first time that the DWP have issued financial targets to incentivise cruelty.

Previous examples of this are ‘Sandras Stars’ which consisted of a Jobcentre manager giving DWP employees a star on a leaderboard for every employee that ‘offloaded’ sanctioned a claimant.

https://wp.me/p1Awq-2cd Sandra’s Stars

And who could also forget this example back in 2015. Of course they denied that this happened but the truth was all too obvious.

If there’s one thing that the government likes doing the most is implementing cruelty to the poorest and most vulnerable the very people.

The government and their henchpeople the DWP target social security claimants the most because they’re less likely to fightback and demand they’re treated fairly.

Most are worn down with the constant compliance requests that they’re hounded with.

They know that people claiming any form of social security are already paying the highest price for the cost of living and energy bills prices.

Many are primarily focused upon trying to get by from day to day and are less likely to know their legal rights and how to appeal DWP decisions.

Let’s hope that the PCS DWP staff members rebel against the mandate given to them from the government and their managers. If they do they deserve our support.

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Please read, share, tweet and email this blog post. It’s vital that we raise awareness on this subject and many of the others that I have published previously.

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Universal Credit Sanctions Back With A Vengence


It was recently announced during a Commons debate in parliament that Universal Credit sanctions (UC) are “back with a vengeance”. This comes after the figures for the last quarter have been revealed.


According to the released figures the sanction rates are now 250% higher than they were for the three months before the pandemic.


It’s extremely worrying that the figures have risen so much in such a short amount of time makes me very concerned about the welfare of UC claimants.

The huge increase allows for the ever increasing number of UC claimants. In layman’s terms it amounts to 2.5% of UC claimants being sanctioned each month which is almost double the amount when compared to 1.4% before the pandemic.


Let’s not forget that in June 2022 £34 million was taken away from claimants as a result of being sanctioned. This was followed in July 2022 by £34.9 million and then in August taking the total to over £36 million.

When you do the maths this totals to £100 million which has literally been taken from vulnerable claimants that were already struggling to pay for basic necessities.


Upon questioning these figures Guy Opperman minister for employment speaking on behalf repeatedly avoided answering a question which asked why the number of sanctions had increased so rapidly.

The only other possibility being that the DWP may have changed its policy on applying sanctions but neglecting to inform everyone that would be affected by this. After all it’s not the first time that they’ve done this.

The only answer that Opperman eventually gave was “The hon. Gentleman asked specifically about the rise in the number of sanctions. Some 98.2% of sanctions are for missing a meeting with a work coach.”


Opperman declined to give an explanation as to why twice as many claimants are now supposedly choosing to miss appointments with their DWP advisor.

Of course this makes no sense because claimants are desperate to receive their UC payments. Methinks Opperman’s not being honest which comes as no surprise at all.



However Anne McLaughlin, SNP MP for Glasgow North East didn’t hold back from being honest in informing the commons the advice that she gives every UC claimant that has come to her after being sanctioned.

She went on to say;

“If you have your benefits sanctioned, do not take it lying down. Contact me and I will fight this for you, because this is wrong and nobody should have to live on less than the minimum income.”

This is of course correct, everyone that finds themselves in this position should fight it. The reality is that many don’t because they don’t have the strength to do so.

I have spoken to many people that had taken the decision to stop claiming UC because they can’t cope with it leaving them with little or no income to live on.

More MPs need to speak up about this in parliament but I won’t hold my breath. Only a few MPs including Debbie Abrahams actually speak up about this but others need to follow.

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Important News For Bus Fares Outside Of London
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Important News For Bus Fares Outside Of London