Report: Welfare conditionality in England and Scotland

A paper examined the efficacy and ethicality of conditional forms of welfare in England and Scotland, bringing together evidence collected during the initial stages of an ongoing study on the topic.

It said that benefit sanctions disproportionately affected young people under 25 and had severe impacts on vulnerable groups, while causing a range of unintended consequences, such as causing hardship or destitution, and having a negative impact on children.

The paper said that a review of international evidence on the use of sanctions had indicated unfavourable longer-term outcomes for earnings, job quality, and employment retention.

A series of short briefing papers were also published, outlining the ‘state of play’ regarding conditionality in a range of policy areas (anti-social behaviour, disability, homelessness, lone parents, migrants, offenders, social housing, and unemployment).