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UC Sanctions
According to thes parliamentary written answers http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2015-10-19.12398.h&s=Steve+Rotheram+section:wrans+section:wms#g12398.q0 and http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-10-14/11863 the DWP does not publish statistics on UC sanctions and has no plans to do so.
So they don’t know and apparently don’t care how many people have had their livelihood taken away.
Does anyone know how we can put pressure on them to change this?
Most of the cases we come across are heartrendingly unfair, with no due process, discrimination, and destitution all thrown into the mix. But until we know how many others are in this position it feels like we are all on our own
Asked by Emily Thornberry
(Islington South and Finsbury)
Asked on: 14 October 2015
Department for Work and Pensions
Universal Credit: Disqualification
11863
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish statistics on the number of sanctions made in relation to jobseekers claiming universal credit.
A
Answered by: Priti Patel
Answered on: 21 October 2015
The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC. All statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.
The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
If I have the correct reply, is DWP just putting off the evil day rather than refusing?
Then again their stats pages go on about caseload etc and don’t mention sanctions at all, and their ‘release strategy’ says:
‘DWP will only release statistics and management information on Universal Credit that are part of its publication strategy. This is designed to ensure that statistics are placed into the public domain in a clear and controlled way.’
‘Controlled’ so they can brag about how many Jobcentres are now operating UC (whilst not telling the public that it’s a very limited version of it) and not letting on about the nasty bits???
The more I read Ms Patel’s answer and the background info, the more weaselly it all looks…and the ‘strategy’ has not been updated since Sept 2013….