Earlier this week, the Guardian published an article highlighting the case of David Clapson, who died last year with an empty stomach and just £3.44 in his bank account after his benefits had been stopped. An online petition calling for an inquiry into Clapson’s death has gathered over 70,000 signatures.{jcomments on}
The article also reported on the wider debate around the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s sanctions regime, seen by charities and welfare advice organisations as being excessively draconian, particularly since a new, tougher regime was introduced by the coalition in October 2012. Last year, 871,000 people in the UK were sanctioned, losing some or all of their benefit payments for a minimum of three weeks, rising to three years in exceptional cases.
The article received over 2,000 comments, including accounts from readers who have been sanctioned by the DWP. Below are a selection of their stories.
Read the full story in the Guardian
