MORE than 400 sanctions leading to dole claimants having their benefits docked were handed out in Gloucester in the first five months of last year alone.
The action to stop or reduce a person's Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken against those deemed by job centres not to be meeting the conditions for receiving the payout, such as attending adviser interviews or being available for work.
Latest figures published in Parliament show 430 benefit sanctions were issued in Gloucester up to the end of last May, 280 in Cheltenham, 270 in the Forest of Dean, 200 in Stroud, 200 in Tewkesbury and 160 in the Cotswolds.
Latest full year figures for 2011 also showed the overall number of sanctions had increased markedly since 2009.
In Gloucester it was 860 compared to 210 two years earlier, Cheltenham 540 (140), Forest of Dean 510 (360), Stroud 490 (340), Tewkesbury 350 (130) and the Cotswolds 340 (230).