Today was supposed to be the day the updated stats for JSA sanctions were published. But the DWP has decided not to publish them. In an announcement the DWP said that there were "significant doubts around the quality of the statistics relating to the new regime". So they're going to work on them and publish them at some point in the future.
The new series of stats is to run from October 2012 to January 2013, and "include a breakdown by Jobcentre Plus office". So why there's doubt about their "quality" is anybody's guess. An article in the Scottish Daily Record quoted figures for April 2012 (yes, last year). 4,680 claimants in Scotland had their benefits stopped in that month, compared to 500 in the same month in 2009. The article quotes the concerns of Citizens Advice Scotland about both the numbers being punished and the "unreasonable or unfair" nature of many of the cases.
So one wonders why the DWP is so concerned not to publish updated figures.
