In October 2012, the coalition introduced a new stricter sanctions regime for Benefit claimants. Now even minor infringements of the ‘claimant contract’ mean benefits can be suspended for four weeks, three months or three years. Dispatches investigates how the stricter sanctions regime affects vulnerable claimants. And DWP whistle blowers reveal that, despite government assurances to the contrary, they are given targets for the number of people they are expected to sanction.