Mum ‘ lost benefits because she had to take daughter, 4, to toilet’
A MOTHER was left with no money for four weeks after benefits s anctions were applied because she was ten minutes late for an appointment due to taking her young daughter to the toilet, MSPs heard yesterday.
The charity Barnardo’s Scotland revealed details of the case involving the woman, from Fife, in a submission to Holyrood’s welfare reform committee, which is looking at how changes to the benefits system affect women.
The charity said it was ‘not an unusual example’ and is now calling for special provisions to be applied when those with children are sanctioned, so that they can still support their family.
With Holyrood due to get some responsibility over welfare as a result of the Smith Commission on f urther devolution, Mark Ballard, head of policy at Barnardo’s Scotland, said: ‘New powers over employment support should be used to mitigate some of the worst impacts of conditionality and sanctions.’
He said the current ‘damaging’ sanctions regime ‘penalises the poorest and most vulnerable, and pushes more people into poverty’. His submission to MSPs revealed: ‘One woman recently supported by our Fife service was ten minutes late for an appointment due to an unforeseen event with one of her children (a fouryear-old needing the toilet on the way to an appointment), she was sanctioned. The impact of this sanctioning for her well-being and the well-being of her family was devastating.
‘She was without money for four weeks and, as a result, she was unable to purchase fuel cards for her gas and electricity meters or feed her children.
‘A number of other household bills went unpaid and she had to borrow money from friends and relatives in order to survive.
‘This had a long-term effect of putting this woman further into debt and damaging her relationships with people who were previously supportive.’
The woman had ‘relied for four weeks on food parcels from food banks i n order to f eed her children’.
Mr Ballard added: ‘This is not an unusual example from our service’s perspective.’
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman said: ‘The number of sanctions in Scotland is falling as more claimants fulfil their commitments to look for work.
‘The truth is that every day Jobcentre Plus advisers are helping people into work and we have a near record number of people in jobs. Sanctions are only used as a last resort for the tiny minority who refuse to take up the support which is on offer.’
Benefit claimants with children who are sanctioned can receive hardship payments straight away, the DWP added.
‘Pushes people into poverty’