The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has issued a report on Universal Credit:
… At best, evidence on the effectiveness of sanctions is mixed, and at worst, it shows them to be counterproductive. The Coalition Government had little or no understanding of the likely impact of a tougher sanctions regime when it was
introduced in 2012. It said the policy would be reviewed on an ongoing basis to understand its impact and the extent to which it was achieving its objectives. But six years later, it is none the wiser. The lack of any such evaluation is unacceptable. Furthermore, without evidence to support the significantly longer sanctions introduced, or data to understand the behavioural impact of escalated sanctions for repeated failures, the policy appears to be nothing other than arbitrarily punitive. The high rate of sanctions under Universal Credit only increases the urgency with which the Government must understand fully the effect of the 2012 reforms. Crucially, if such research suggests changes are required, the Government must be prepared to respond accordingly. … (p.61)
To read the report, click here