Editing Jobseeker's Allowance (section)

==Statistics==
According to ''[[The Economist]]'', in 2015 roughly 2% of [[Welfare state in the United Kingdom|welfare]] expenditure in the UK was spent on unemployment benefits; the bulk was spent in other areas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657397-conservative-chancellor-has-managed-politically-tricky-welfare-cut-millions-may|title=George Osborne's sad triumph|department=Bagehot's notebook|date=9 July 2015|newspaper=The Economist|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912180108/https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657397-conservative-chancellor-has-managed-politically-tricky-welfare-cut-millions-may|archive-date=12 September 2017|df=dmy-all|quote=A majority of Britons think the government spends too much on benefits. Yet that is based on an exaggerated idea of how much of the £220-billion ($340-billion) welfare bill goes on dole [unemployment benefits]. Only about 2% does. Most of the budget is swallowed by pensioner benefits; child, disability and incapacity benefits account for much of the rest.}}
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The average number of claimants between the years 2003 and 2008 was 814,000 and average number of new claims was approximately 2,463,000.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwKGr3mVJ4MC&pg=PA18 |title=Department for Work and Pensions: Communicating with Customers : Report |date=2009 |publisher=[[The Stationery Office]] |isbn=978-0-10-295478-4 |language=en}}</ref> Nearly 40% of income-based claimants during 2003 were also claiming Housing Benefit.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avu-V_ybOaUC&pg=RA1-PA14 |title=Dealing with the Complexity of the Benefits System: Department for Work and Pensions |date=2005-11-18 |publisher=[[The Stationery Office]] |isbn=978-0-10-293615-5 |language=en}}</ref> The DWP for England and Wales showed one third of the total number of claimants for JSA were persons having been convicted of a crime resulting in their act(s) having been recorded by the police authorities.<ref name="PRESS RELEASE March 2012"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Herring |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1K7DzgEACAAJ |title=Criminal Law: Text, Cases, and Materials |date=2022 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-285592-3 |language=en}}</ref> In ''The Guardian'' newspaper in March 2001, the success of the [[New Deal (United Kingdom)|New Deal scheme]] was reported; the report stated that 270,000 people were found full-time employment and the cost of achieving this end was half of the estimated amount.<ref name="Phillip Inman ">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/08/welfare.budget2001 |first=P. |last=Inman |date=8 March 2001|work=The Guardian|title=New Deal enters the fast lane|access-date=11 June 2012|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308035658/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/08/welfare.budget2001|archive-date=8 March 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to a report in 2008 by the [[Social Market Foundation]] there were approximately 100,000 long-term unemployed persons claiming JSA, at any given time.<ref name=" Mulheirn & Menne" >{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QTtY2qtgSPUJ:www.smf.co.uk/assets/files/publications/SMF_Flexible_New_Deal.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgjbJ2F3c6M9vO_wCWWdPAsLs8WmIYBfoCyxsk3nu5dqAy6vYPYw4NtSL7J_P7SKGKqqYRyH8G8OFBQWX6mUQkxP0MpHy8NqAOIi66dmf932TzGvDS5t7iCJgjYFFjKMdivuspm |first1=I. |last1=Mulheirn |first2=V. |last2=Menne|publisher=Social Market Foundation |date=September 2008 |title=The Flexible New Deal: Making it work|access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Google Docs is not an authoritative source – anyone can put any old rubbish there|date=March 2024}} From 2010 to April 2011 the number of claimants having [[#Sanctioning|sanctions]]  imposed increased to 75,000 persons amid claims that [[#Criticism of sanctions|DWP staff deliberately made claiming more difficult]] and [[#Alleged pressure on Job centre staff|were required to refer 3 people a week for sanctions]]. The number of disabled people sanctioned doubled to 20,000 over the same period. The Department for Work and Pensions denied persecuting vulnerable people.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/jobcentres-tricking-people-benefit-sanctions|title=Jobcentres 'tricking' people out of benefits to cut costs, says whistleblower|first=John |last=Domokos|work=The Guardian|date=1 April 2011|access-date=9 July 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001203710/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/jobcentres-tricking-people-benefit-sanctions|archive-date=1 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>