20 February 2018

Research shows that benefit sanctions regime discriminates against disabled people claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA).

What: Research shows that disabled people claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) were between 26 and 53 per cent more likely to be sanctioned than non-disabled claimants between 2010 and 2014. Academic Ben Baumberg Geiger says that more than one million disabled people on JSA and employment and support allowance have been sanctioned since 2010, along with a further 200,000 in the two years before that, under the Labour government.

Why significant: The sanctions regime has been closely associated with the deaths of many claimants such as David Clapson [see 20 July 2013].