“The Chancellor has chosen the easy, but wrong, target”: anti-poverty charity Turn2us responds to speech

Responding to the speech today by the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, who has pledged new changes to the benefit system, meaning more people are affected by sanctions, Anna Stevenson, benefits expert from anti-poverty charity Turn2us, said: 

“The vast majority of people move off universal credit and back into work quickly. The small number of people who are out of work for longer often have complex reasons for this and need understanding and support, not punishment. 

“With job centres closing, the cost-of-living crisis stubbornly holding on, inflation at very high levels, and a benefits system that can be fiendishly difficult to navigate, the Chancellor has chosen the easy, but wrong, target. 

“The Government's own research shows sanctions don't work. This is why we need to move away from the flawed rhetoric of penalising people, towards a system that better supports people to find work if they can and promotes everyone’s financial security.”