Vote To Suspend Benefit Sanctions

Fife Councillors will vote today on whether to suspend benefit sanctions against lone parents and those with mental health issues.

The motion, being put to a full council meeting, comes after a report from a coalition of churches called for the move.

Charities have heard of claimants having benefits stopped for a minimum of two weeks because they've missed an appointment at the Job Centre.

One young woman in Fife was sanctioned for going to her mum's funeral, while a man in Glenrothes missed an appointment because he was talking to employers about a possible job. 

We've heard a woman was also sanctioned because she was giving birth when she should have been filling in a form at the job centre.

It's estimated 1,000 sanctions per week are being applied against people who have been assessed as unfit to work because of mental health problems, 100,000 sanctions per year are against families with children.

Martin Johnston is from the Church of Scotland: