June 2018

Research published from five-year study into welfare conditionality, findings include link between sanctions and deaths, including suicide.

What: A five-year project by researchers from six UK universities in England and Scotland found that sanctions “routinely trigger profoundly negative personal, financial, health and behavioural outcomes” and push some people away from claiming the benefits they are entitled to and are linked to deaths, including suicides. 

Why significant: The findings from this study have been used as evidence at various inquiries, and as written evidence to the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.