Benefit Sanctions Forcing People To Use Food Banks, Study Confirms

Benefit sanctions, whereby social security claimants have their payments stopped for at least a month as a punishment for breaching jobcentre rules, are a key driver of hunger and food bank use, according to a study carried out by Oxford University academics. The study, which mapped official sanctions data against food bank referral figures, concluded that a “robust link” existed between increases in the number of benefit sanctions handed out and rising numbers of adults receiving food parcels. It found that every three-month increase of 10 sanctions per 100,000 of the population over a four-year period was associated with around five more instances of adults being referred for charity food parcels, suggesting a “strong, dynamic relationship” between the two. Read more on the Guardian website.