Benefit sanctions could see nearly 450,000 people at risk of homelessness
- 08 Nov
Homelessness charity Crisis has warned that almost 450,000 people who have had their benefits stopped or ‘sanctioned' are at risk of becoming homeless.
Department for Work and Pensions figures show that 447,000 people have had their benefits stopped since October 2012. Of that number 215,000 were jobseekers who saw their benefits stopped for at least a month.
Research by Crisis looking into its clients placed on the government's work programme found that benefit sanctions were often unfair or made in error, reports 24dash.
Leslie Morphy, Crisis chief executive, said: "These 'sanctions' are cruel and often handed out unfairly, due to errors on the part of the job centre or work programme provider. They can leave people utterly destitute - without money even for food and at severe risk of homelessness. Quite how this is meant to motivate people or help them back into work is difficult to see."
Comparing November 2012 to June 2013 with the same period of the previous year there has been an 11% rise in sanctions from 62,320 to 69,119.
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Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1176741
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