Benefits Sanctions
This my speech on the debate on Benefits Sanctions in the General Synod this morning. Thanks to my colleague Stella Collishaw for drawing attention to the reasarch that I mention: Thank you chair. I welcome this debate and thank the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales for bringing it to synod. It has been a privilege to hear stories from around the country about benefit sanctions and their effects on the most vulnerable. In Derbyshire we too have found this to be a problematic area. Research from Rural Action Derbyshire has highlighted this problem in our area too. That research suggests a welcome drop in the numbers of people being sanctioned in Derbyshire - from a high point of 20% of claimants in some local authorities in May 2013 to a lower, but still quite high level of 7% of all claimants by the end of last year. This should not be understood as a motion that is critical of the Government's welfare policy. Far from it. The motion has been carefully worde