Rights statement: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/impact-of-welfare-benefit-sanctioning-on-food-insecurity-a-dynamic-crossarea-study-of-food-bank-usage-in-the-uk/9BDC098A9A432583859D6739C0A0DA0C The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Social Policy, 47 (3), pp 437-457 2018, © 2018 Cambridge University Press.
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of Welfare Benefit Sanctioning on Food Insecurity
T2 - A Dynamic Cross-Area Study of Food Bank Usage in the UK
AU - Loopstra, Rachel
AU - Fledderjohann, Jasmine
AU - Reeves, Aaron
AU - Stuckler, David
N1 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/impact-of-welfare-benefit-sanctioning-on-food-insecurity-a-dynamic-crossarea-study-of-food-bank-usage-in-the-uk/9BDC098A9A432583859D6739C0A0DA0C The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Social Policy, 47 (3), pp 437-457 2018, © 2018 Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2018/7
Y1 - 2018/7
N2 - Since 2009, the UK has witnessed marked increases in the rate of sanctions applied to unemployment insurance claimants, as part of a wider agenda of austerity and welfare reform. In 2013, over one million sanctions were applied, stopping benefit payments for a minimum of four weeks and potentially leaving people facing economic hardship and driving them to use food banks. Here we explore whether sanctioning is associated with food bank use by linking data from The Trussell Trust Foodbank Network with records on sanctioning rates across 259 local authorities in the UK. After accounting for local authority differences and time trends, the rate of adults fed by food banks rose by an additional 3.36 adults per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.71 to 5.01) as the rate of sanctioning increased by 10 per 100,000 adults. The availability of food distribution sites affected how tightly sanctioning and food bank usage were associated (p < 0.001); in areas with few distribution sites, rising sanctions led to smaller increases in food bank usage. In conclusion, sanctioning is closely linked with rising food bank usage, but the impact of sanctioning on household food insecurity is not fully reflected in available data.
AB - Since 2009, the UK has witnessed marked increases in the rate of sanctions applied to unemployment insurance claimants, as part of a wider agenda of austerity and welfare reform. In 2013, over one million sanctions were applied, stopping benefit payments for a minimum of four weeks and potentially leaving people facing economic hardship and driving them to use food banks. Here we explore whether sanctioning is associated with food bank use by linking data from The Trussell Trust Foodbank Network with records on sanctioning rates across 259 local authorities in the UK. After accounting for local authority differences and time trends, the rate of adults fed by food banks rose by an additional 3.36 adults per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.71 to 5.01) as the rate of sanctioning increased by 10 per 100,000 adults. The availability of food distribution sites affected how tightly sanctioning and food bank usage were associated (p < 0.001); in areas with few distribution sites, rising sanctions led to smaller increases in food bank usage. In conclusion, sanctioning is closely linked with rising food bank usage, but the impact of sanctioning on household food insecurity is not fully reflected in available data.
U2 - 10.1017/S0047279417000915
DO - 10.1017/S0047279417000915
M3 - Journal article
VL - 47
SP - 437
EP - 457
JO - Journal of Social Policy
JF - Journal of Social Policy
SN - 0047-2794
IS - 3
ER -