The rate of sanctions against people on Jobseeker’s Allowance has more than doubled in Kirklees and Calderdale since 2010.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that 9,118 sanctions were imposed on people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in the area in 2014.

This works out as 92.2 sanctions for every 100 people claiming JSA in the area at November, 2014, and compares with 43 sanctions imposed per 100 claimants in 2010 – an increase of 115% and far above the national average.

In Kirklees alone, there were 88.3 sanctions per 100 claimants against 41.5 sanctions per 100 recorded in 2010. Calderdale saw 100.4 sanctions per 100 claimants compared with 45.8 per 100 logged in 2010.

Work and pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith introduced tougher rules for those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance towards the end of 2012.

In November, 2010, there were 1.33m people claiming the benefit across Great Britain. These people were given 672,000 sanctions between them at a rate of 50.6 sanctions for every 100 claimants.

In November, 2014, the number of people claiming JSA had fallen by 43% to 762,000 – but the number of sanctions these people received throughout 2014 only fell to 605,000 or 10%.

This means that 79 sanctions were issued for every 100 people claiming JSA in 2014 – a 57% increase compared to the 50.6 sanctions per 100 claimants in 2010.

A JSA sanction is applied to somebody if they fail to abide by the terms of the benefit. If a claimant misses a meeting with their adviser or fails to actively seek work then their benefit is taken away from them for a set period. The length of this period depends on the severity of the lapse and can last up to three years.

Prior to 2012, the maximum time period for a sanction was 26 weeks.

One person can receive multiple sanctions with the length of time they are taken off the benefit increasing with each one.