Responding to today’s publication of a new report, commissioned by Crisis, on the impact of benefit sanctions on homelessness, Shadow Employment Minister Emily Thornberry said:

“This report is a damning indictment of a broken sanctions regime.

“The new system introduced by the Tories three years ago brought a culture of fear into jobcentres, pushing people into extreme hardship and in many cases out onto the streets. The Government says that sanctions are supposed to help people into work, but clearly in these cases, where the most vulnerable are being hit hardest, that isn’t what’s happening.

“Today’s report brings fresh urgency to Labour’s call for a comprehensive review of the entire system. Under the Tories, sanctions are simply not fit for purpose.”