More than one in 20 Universal Credit claimants sanctioned in Ashfield

The figures come as a think tank calls on the Government to pause benefit sanctions until inflation is brought under control.

Analysis of Home Office data by the Institute for Public Policy Research, a think tank, shows 2,556 people receiving Universal Credit in Ashfield were deemed to be 'looking for work' as of November – 153, 6 per cent, of which had been sanctioned.

Evidence suggests people are most often sanctioned due to missing Jobcentre appointments.

Across the country, about 100,000 people have had their Universal Credit payments cut.

For those classed as searching for work, more than one in 13 had been sanctioned, double the rate before the pandemic.

Henry Parkes, IPPR senior economist, said: “Sanction rates are climbing rapidly and it seems your chances of being sanctioned are largely down to the temperament of your local Jobcentre.

“We already know sanctions can push people into destitution, so as the cost-of-living crisis continues, it is urgent the government pauses, rather than expands, its sanctions regime while it investigates what’s driving the rise and variation in sanction rates.”

The figures show people in the North of England are far more likely to face benefit sanctions, with the North East, 9.2 per cent, North West, 9 per cent, and Yorkshire and the Humber, 8.8 per cent, topping the list of worst-impacted regions. The East Midlands had 7.2 per cent penalised as of November, among the lowest of any UK region.

The IPPR would like to see benefit sanctions halted during the cost-of-living crisis.

The report says there is not enough clarity on why jobseekers on Universal Credit are having their benefits cut, or for the significant regional differences.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Our priority is to help people find and move into work and the latest figures show an overwhelming amount – 97.6 per cent – of sanctions are applied simply due to claimants failing to attend mandatory appointments, not for failing to undertake work search requirements.

“Sanctions can often quickly be resolved by the claimant re-engaging with the Jobcentre and attending the next appointment.”