Do benefit sanctions breach Article 3 ECHR?

One of PLP’s five strategic focus areas is benefit sanctioning. We are particularly concerned with the lawfulness of sanctioning and the effect this has on marginalised people. In this article PLP solicitor Sarah Clarke considers whether benefit sanctioning, particularly for people who are not well enough to work, could constitute inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 ECHR. This is an extended version of the article which appears in the LAG Bulletin for May 2019.

The article can be downloaded and read in full here.

For more information on PLP’s work on benefit sanctions, see here.