With the current Welfare Reform, subsequent benefits sanctions and foodbanks popping up all over the country, including in East Dunbartonshire, the Citizens Advice Bureaux are seeing more clients than ever experiencing extreme financial hardship.

As a result West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau have produced a report “Unjust and Uncaring: A report on conditionality and benefits sanctions and their impact on clients”. The report looks at ‘The Consequences of Sanctions’, including; food and fuel poverty, ‘Conditionality’, ‘Challenges in West Dunbartonshire’ and ‘Benefits and Sanction in the Future’.

 I had a client who had fulfilled his minimum job-seeking activities but they would not count one of his job-seeking activities because it had been done on his last signing-on day. The client was sanctioned for 13 weeks. This was an unfair sanction.

Read the full report Unjust Uncaring – Report – WDCAB – 2014