Measures designed to punish the poor were test-marketed on asylum seekers

Letters: Figuring out jobseeker sanctions

The Guardian, Friday 29 March 2013 20.59 GMT

Illustration by Gary Kempston

David Freud asserted to the House of Lords that there is no clear trend in the proportion of the caseload of jobseeker's allowance claimants which receives sanctions (Lords reject inquiry into whether jobcentres have sanctions targets, 26 March). He claimed that "prior to 2007, the rate was running at around 4% and has since fluctuated between 3%-5%".

It would be a pity if the user-unfriendly nature of the web "Tabtool" by which the DWP publishes the relevant statistics were to allow Freud to get away with this gross misstatement. From 2000 until the end of 2006, the proportion of JSA claimants sanctioned each month ran at a fairly constant 2%, not 4%. After John Hutton was moved in as secretary of state to "toughen" the regime, there was a rise to around 3% by late 2007. James Purnell's tenure, which featured a sanctions review by Paul Gregg, saw a fall back to below 2% by early 2009. The last Labour secretary, Yvette Cooper, presided over a renewed rise but only to about 3%. Across all 121 months of Labour governments from April 2000, when the current statistics began, the monthly average was 2.6%.

The coalition's monthly average to October 2012 has been 4.2%. This will be revised upwards when the jobseeker's (back to work schemes) bill releases cases "stockpiled" since the Reilly-Wilson (Poundland) judgment of August 2012. The coalition's figures were also temporarily held down by the transfer of responsibility for initiating work programme sanctions to private contractors in summer 2011. Overall, therefore, the coalition government has shifted monthly sanctions to a level more than 60% above that of its predecessor.

A recent FoI request to the DWP (2012-4383) revealed that of all claimants to JSA in the five years to March 2012, no less than 19% were sanctioned. This gives a better idea of the astonishing scale of sanctioning activity.

Dr David Webster
Honorary senior research fellow, urban studies, University of Glasgow

• Some of the measures being designed to punish the poor were test-marketed six or seven years ago on asylum seekers (Comment, 28 March). It was asylum seekers first subject to the penalty of being thrust into destitution as an "incentive" to make them go back home. And it was asylum seekers who were first provided with vouchers in lieu of cash so that their purchases could be subject to controls. Those joining the current packhunt against migrants should be careful what they wish for. Yesterday asylum seekers, today the poor. And tomorrow?
Richard Henderson
Bristol

• I was receiving JSA for several months over the winter. When drawing JSA, a claimant must apply for a certain number of jobs per week to demonstrate they are making a good effort to look for work. At first, my claim was contingent upon applying for seven jobs per week. At the beginning of March, this abruptly rose to 21 jobs per week. Given the new information regarding sanctioning targets, I have no doubt that the increase was designed to cause me to fail my target and give grounds for sanction. Luckily, I was offered a job shortly afterwards.
Name and address supplied

• You report that there was "a total of 680,000 JSA sanctions handed out in the 10 months up to October 2012" (Report, 23 March). I have been contacting the DWP for some time to clarify whether those sanctioned are still included in the unemployment figures. I finally received an answer, which states: varied length sanction – "probably" not included in the figures; fixed length – "probably counted"; entitlement doubt (whether they fulfil obligations) – "probably" not counted. Given the vast number of sanctions handed out, it seems logical they must have a significant effect on the recent unemployment figures. Indeed, it also seems logical that unemployment is far higher than the coalition claims.
Christopher Munro
Liverpool

• Perhaps some of the new "compassion" in the health service could also be introduced into the social security system, with DWP/jobcentre managers and politicians spending some time on the front line, ie living off benefits for a year.
Guy Norris
Peebles, Tweeddale