Offers a critical analysis of benefit sanctions in the UK, situated within a broader context, and including a balanced look at the evidence for and against Argues that their effectiveness is unproven, they cause unnecessary hardship, they are inconsistent with justice and they violate the rule of law Uses benefit sanctions to throw light on issues like proportionality and the problems of punishment when it is imposed by administrators in bureaucratic settings rather than by the judiciary in the courts

Autorentext
Michael Adler is Emeritus Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Edinburgh and Editor of the European Journal of Social Security.  His research has focused on the interface between public law and social policy, in particular on the nature of administrative justice, the resolution of administrative grievances and the effectiveness of different mechanisms of dispute resolution.  He is the author of two books (Parental Choice and Social Policy (Edinburgh University Press, 1989) and Discourse, Power and Justice (Routledge, 1994) and the editor of five more, most recently of Administrative Justice in Context (Hart Publishing, 2010) as well as numerous articles and book chapters.

Klappentext

The book subjects the largely hidden phenomenon of benefit sanctions in the UK to sustained examination and critique. It comprises twelve chapters dealing with the terms 'cruel', 'inhuman' and 'degrading' that are used as a benchmark for assessing benefit sanctions; benefit sanctions as a matter of public concern; the historical development of benefit sanctions in the UK; changes in the scope and severity of benefit sanctions; conditionality and the changing relationship between the citizen and the state; the impact and effectiveness of benefit sanctions; benefit sanctions and administrative justice; the role of law in protecting the right to a social minimum; a comparison of benefit sanctions with court fines; benefit sanctions and the rule of law; and what, if anything, can be done about benefit sanctions. Each chapter ends with a paragraph that attempts to highlight the most salient points in that chapter, and the book ends with a short conclusion in which benefit sanctions are assessed against the chosen benchmark.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Benefit Sanctions as a Matter of Public Concern.- 3. The Historical Development of Benefit Sanctions in the UK.- 4. Changes in the Scope, Severity and Incidence of Benefit Sanctions.-  5. Conditionality and the Changing Relationship Between the Citizen and the State.- 6. The Impact and Effectiveness of Benefit Sanctions.- 7. Benefit Sanctions and Administrative Justice.- 8. The Role of Law in Protecting the Right to a Social Minimum.- 9. A Comparison of Benefit Sanctions with Court Fines.- 10. Benefit Sanctions and the Rule of Law.- 11. What, if Anything, Can be Done About Benefit Sanctions?.- 12  Conclusion.