UK Labour MP urges probe into whether #benefits are unfairly stripped from #claimants - https://t.co/warnqsskJO After a campaign by MP Debbie Abrahams for Oldham East & Saddleworth, the Work and Pensions Committee has called for an independent probe to check that benefits #sanctions and conditions are being applied ‘fairly and appropriately’. 10 Downing Street are under pressure to investigate if thousands of people are being taken off benefits unfairly – following a campaign by a Greater Manchester MP. Debbie Abrahams has accused the #government of using sanctions to ‘distort’ #unemployment figures. Ms Abrahams confronted Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith and employment minister Esther McVey after being approached by a #whistleblower who works as a Job Centre Plus adviser in the north of England and constituents who have been hit by sanctions. Ms Abrahams said: “Thanks to the bravery of our whistleblower we now know that the government are setting Jobcentre Plus staff targets to get as many claimants off benefits as they can just so they can distort the unemployment figures. “The misery this government is causing to hundreds of thousands of people on benefits in Oldham and across the country is unforgivable. “But, at last, they can no longer ignore the demand that a full and independent review should be carried out. “No-one is arguing with the fact that anyone who is on benefits should do all they can to find appropriate work. But this government have gone beyond the pale by using underhand tactics to manipulate unemployment data.”
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 23:46:02 +0000
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