Benefits sanctions are working the way they are supposed to, Iain Duncan Smith says
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The benefits sanctions system is working the way it is supposed to, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said. Iain Duncan Smith told MPs on the Work and Pensions Select Committee that the temporary benefit cuts were also fair. “We do believe that the advisors apply sanctions in the way that they’re meant to do.” The claim comes despite a warning from the same committee of MPs in March this year that the policy might be just about punishing the unemployed. In fact, the Department for Work and Pensions announced in the last week that it would change some aspects of the sanctions system – partly in response to criticisms in the March report.
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