THERE is a strong link between increased benefit sanctions and higher foodbank use, a study suggests.

Researchers analysed three years of data from Salisbury charity The Trussell Trust to conclude that penalising benefit claimants financially saw a rise in people turning to foodbanks for help.

The foodbank provider is now calling for the 'yellow card' warning system being piloted in Scotland - giving claimants 14 days to appeal before a financial sanction is imposed - to be extended across the UK.

University of Oxford researchers analysed foodbank data from 259 local authorities between 2012 and 2015 and they found as the rate of sanctioning increased within local authorities, the rate of foodbank use also increased.

Even after accounting for differences between local authorities, their modelling showed that for every 10 additional sanctions applied in each quarter of the year, on average five more adults would be referred to Trussell Trust foodbanks in the area.

As sanctioning decreased, foodbank use also decreased, which the report suggests is evidence of a strong link between sanctioning and people not having enough money to meet basic needs.

The findings are from the first phase of a 16-month study into how trends in foodbank usage over the last four years relate to changes in the economy and welfare system.

The report said foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network experienced a spike in numbers after 2013, when over one million sanctions were applied.

Foodbanks distributed three times as much over the period - from just under 350,000 three-day emergency food supplies in 2012/13 to around 913,000 in 2013/14.

Lead author Dr Rachel Loopstra said: "These findings show clear evidence of sanctions being linked to economic hardship and hunger, as we see a close relationship between sanctioning rates and rates of foodbank usage across local authorities in the UK."

The Trussell Trust is recommending the introduction of a warning system with a non-financial 'yellow card' penalty to first try and engage the claimant in a constructive dialogue without the immediate threat of financial penalty.

Adrian Curtis, from The Trussell Trust, said: "The findings from this ground-breaking study tell us once and for all: the more people sanctioned, the more people need foodbanks.

"We now need to listen to the stories behind the statistics: families go hungry, debt spiral, and the heating doesn't go on even as temperatures drop.

"There is much to be hopeful about - we're very pleased to see sanctioning rates have decreased and that the new Secretary of State has announced that work capability re-assessments for employment and support allowance claimants with incurable or progressive illnesses have been scrapped.

"However, we still see people being referred to our foodbanks who have been sanctioned unfairly.

"A true 'yellow card' system, which gives people a non-financial warning first, would mean less people thrown into crisis and ultimately, less people needing foodbanks."