Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment?

175 Pages·2018·2.373 MB·English

by  Michael Adler

PALGRAVE SOCIO-LEGAL
STUDIES
Series Editor: Dave Cowan
CRUEL,
INHUMAN OR
DEGRADING
TREATMENT?
Benefit
Sanctions in the UK
Michael Adler
Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies
Series Editor
Dave Cowan
School of Law
University of Bristol
Bristol, UK
The Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series is a developing series of monographs
and textbooks featuring cutting edge work which, in the best tradition of
socio-legal studies, reach out to a wide international audience.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14679
Michael Adler
Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading
Treatment?
Benefit Sanctions in the UK
Michael Adler
School of Social and Political Science
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, UK
Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies
ISBN 978-3-319-90355-2 ISBN 978-3-319-90356-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90356-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018939715
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C
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 Benefit Sanctions as a Matter of Public Concern 9
3 The Historical Development of Benefit Sanctions
in the UK 21
4 Changes in the Scope, Severity and Incidence
of Benefit Sanctions 45
5 Conditionality and the Changing Relationship
between the Citizen and the State 63
6 The Impact and Effectiveness of Benefit Sanctions 73
7 Benefit Sanctions and Administrative Justice 87
8 The Role of Law in Protecting the Right
to a Social Minimum 107
9 A Comparison of Benefit Sanctions with Court Fines 115
10 Benefit Sanctions and the Rule of Law 129
v
vi CoNTENTS
11 What, if anything, can be done about Benefit Sanctions? 137
12 Conclusion 149
Bibliography 153
Author Index 163
Subject Index 167
A
bbreviAtions
AJTC Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council
ALMP Active Labour Market Policy
BI Basic income
CESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CTC Child Tax Credit
DPTC Disabled Person’s Tax Credit
DRT Dispute Resolution Team
DWP Department for Work and Pensions
ECHR European Convention on Human Rights
ECSR European Committee on Social Rights
ECtHR European Court of Human Rights
ESA Employment and Support Allowance
ESC European Social Charter
FoI Freedom of Information
HMCTS HM Courts and Tribunals Service
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
IS Income Support
JSA Job Seeker’s Allowance
MR Mandatory Reconsideration
NDLP New Deal for Lone Parents
NRR Net replacement rate
PCN Penalty charge notice
PES Public Employment Service
SA Social Assistance
TCEA Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act
TUC Trades Union Congress
vii
viii ABBREvIATIoNS
UA Unemployment Assistance
UC Universal Credit
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UI Unemployment Insurance
UMI Unconditional minimum income
WCA Work Capability Assessment
WFI Work-focused interview
WFTC Working Families Tax Credit
WFHRA Work-focused health-related assessment
WSoR Written statement of reasons
WTC Working Tax Credit
YTC Youth Training Scheme
L f
ist of igures
Fig. 2.1 Trends in perceived deservingness of benefit claimants,
1993–2013 16
Fig. 4.1 Changing reasons for JSA sanctions, 1997–2015: the number
of sanctions imposed for each reason as a percentage of the
total number of sanctions imposed 55
Fig. 4.2 The average number of JSA sanctions (before challenges)
for not taking part in a training or employment scheme, not
‘actively seeking work’ and being late for or failing to attend
an interview or a meeting, as a percentage of the number
of claimants, 2000–2016 56
Fig. 6.1 JSA sanctions (before challenges) and hardship payment
awards, 2011–2015 80
Fig. 6.2 Hardship payment awards as a percentage of JSA and ESA
sanctions (before challenges), 2001–2015 81
Fig. 7.1 Social security appeals to the first-tier tribunal, 2009–2016 98
Fig. 7.2 outcomes from Mandatory Reconsideration and appeals
in social security cases, 2013–2016 99
Fig. 7.3 The decision-making process for benefit sanctions 102
Fig. 9.1 The incidence of court fines and benefit sanctions,
2001–2016 118
ix