Benefit sanctions are making it harder for vulnerable people in Coventry to find work according to a new report by Centre for Human Rights in Practice at the University of Warwick with Coventry Law Centre, Coventry Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Coventry Women’s Voices

The report is based on a survey of people who have been sanctioned (had their benefits stopped) in Coventry. It found that far from encouraging people into work, in too many cases the sanctions process actually made job seeking harder. Lack of money made it difficult for people to afford travel to interviews, telephone calls or access to a computer to look for work.

In addition benefit sanctions are leaving families in Coventry with severe financial problems – sometimes with no money for food, rent or utility bills, with increased debt and in some cases at risk of homelessness. This is leading to an increase in stress, depression and other mental health issues. Both these practical and psychological problems reduce the time available for job seeking.

The report highlighted serious problems with the sanctions process which included:

· Sanctions being imposed on vulnerable people with no account being taken of their difficulties.

· Claimants being given appointment times or required to take part in training or work programmes that take no account of caring or other responsibilities or health needs.

· Some claimants being set requirements for job search that are not possible for them to complete for example as a result of learning difficulties or difficulties with written or spoken English.

· Sanctions that have been wrongly applied or applied for very minor errors

· Sanctions that have been applied with no warning, with no information given about the reason for sanction, the length of sanction or right to appeal.

Janet Gurney, Case worker at Coventry Law Centre, which has an 80% success rate for appeals in sanctions cases said:

‘In too many cases sanctions are wrongly applied and are causing untold misery. Some of the most vulnerable people, far from being helped by the job centre appear to be targeted. We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the Job Centre and are looking forward to their response.’

The findings of the report were presented to the City Council’s Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee in October last year. Responding to the report, Committee chair, Cllr Skipper said:

‘This important report raises serious concerns about the impact of sanctions in Coventry. Not only are families being left dependant on the food bank to eat, but local voluntary and public services are facing increasing demands as a consequence. We will be raising the findings of the report with the full Council Cabinet and will continue to press DWP for improvements in their dealings with people looking for work locally’.