WELSH jobseekers face sanctions if they miss work placements and training that have been set up for them.

Benefit claimants in Wales have been asked to attend work placements and skills training more than 26,000 times since 2011 to help them get a job. But almost 14,000 of these referrals (53 per cent) did not, or have not yet resulted in a claimant participating, according to new statistics.

Those who have chosen to not attend will face having their benefits stopped because they have not done all they can to find work in return for the financial support offered by the Government and taxpayers.

Work coaches at Jobcentre Plus look to identify those claimants who would benefit from placements and training and must attend as part of the agreement in return for benefits.

Sanctions have always been part of the welfare system, and a recent independent review by Matthew Oakley showed that they provide a vital backdrop in the social security system for jobseekers. Sanctions are only used in a small number of cases as a last resort.

The statistics relate to schemes, formally called Mandatory Work Activity and Skills Conditionality that are part of a package of measures supporting unemployed benefit claimants to be able to move into work.