Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Government accused of 'Scrooge-like' attitude to Christmas as jobseekers could face benefit sanctions for missing appointments on Christmas Eve

The DWP will continue implementing George Osborne's austerity measures with a 'business-as-usual' approach over Christmas, despite MP's objections

Adam Withnall
Wednesday 16 December 2015 17:36 GMT
Comments
Iain Duncan Smith has made clear a further raid on Universal Credit would be a 'red line'
Iain Duncan Smith has made clear a further raid on Universal Credit would be a 'red line'

Families could potentially face benefit sanctions on Christmas Day this year as the Government was accused of having a "Scrooge-like approach" to the holiday period.

Hannah Bardell, the SNP member for Livingston, told the House of Commons that the Department of Work and Pensions plans to "operate business as usual" around the public holiday.

It means people on disability benefit or Jobseeker’s allowance could be denied access to funds if they fail to turn up for appointments up until or on Christmas Eve.

Jobcentre Plus branches in Scotland are open on Christmas Eve, but they are closed in England and Wales.

Ms Bardell called for Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, to be "held to account on this matter".

"We have to have this dealt with appropriately, so we don’t have a Scrooge-like approach to Christmas," she said.

If claimants are sanctioned, they are refused benefits for a minimum of four weeks – but it can be up to three years in extreme cases.

According to research last year by the Public and Commercial Services Union, an estimated 80,000 UK families faced having their benefits stopped over Christmas, based on the monthly averages of sanctions delivered.

The latest available DWP figures showed 26,939 JSA claimants were handed sanctions in June this year.

A statement from the DWP at the release of the latest statistics said: "Sanctions are an important part of our benefits’ system and while the overwhelming majority of claimants play by the rules, it is right that there is a system in place for tackling those few who do not fulfil their commitment to find work."

If the DWP is to reverse its policy before the Commons breaks up itself for the Christmas period – it will have to do so on Thursday.

A DWP spokesman said: "Jobcentres are there to help people into work, no matter what time of the year it is.

"Sanctions are only applied as a last resort and the number of JSA sanctions have halved over the last year."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in