Reinstatement of benefit sanctions

That this House believes that the decision to reinstate benefit sanctions in the middle of a health and economic crisis is a profoundly callous step; further believes that this is an ideologically driven, punitive measure which simply adds to the stress and anxiety for people who are already facing hard times; notes that removing benefits and forcing people to use food banks to feed their families does nothing to help anyone back to work; and urgently calls on the Government to extend the suspension of sanctions as the covid-19 crisis continues and the numbers claiming universal credit soar, with a view to scrapping benefit sanctions altogether.