A NORTH-East Anglican bishop has urged the Government to carry out "a substantial review" of benefit sanctions in the wake of a damning report by the public spending watchdog.

The Rt Rev Christine Hardman made the call after the National Audit Office (NAO) found penalties could plunge claimants into hardship, hunger and depression, and were being handed out with little evidence that they worked.

The Bishop of Newcastle was among those to tackle ministers over the use of sanctions during question time in the House of Lords.

Opposition spokesman Baroness Sherlock branded their operation "a disgrace" leading people to have to rely on food banks.

But pensions minister Lord Freud rejected the criticism and insisted the system worked.

Speaking in the Lords, Bishop Hardman, who was inaugurated last year, said: "Given that the National Audit Office has today said that there is limited evidence that benefit sanctions work but rather that they result in 'hardship, hunger and depression', can the minister update the House as to whether the Government will now commit to a substantial review of the use and implementation of sanctions?"

But responding, Lord Freud said: "I cannot make that commitment."

The minister argued "the reality is that sanctions work" and added: "There is a lot of external evidence of sanctions having a substantial impact on employment uptake, whether you are looking at the evidence from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark or Germany.

"Our own survey shows that people on both JSA (jobseeker's allowance) and ESA (employment and support allowance) are more likely to accept the rules of the system with the sanction system behind it."

Lady Sherlock said the minister had previously told peers sanctions were "very rare and a last resort", but the NAO report revealed nearly a quarter of JSA claimants received at least one sanction in the five years to 2015.

She added: "Is it any wonder that our food banks are filling up with people using them who are sanctioned for trivial or unjust reasons? Is this not a disgrace?"

But Lord Freud said there "an enormous number of protections" for claimants facing sanctions.

He added: "This is not the easy process that is implied. Sanctions are treated very seriously. They are an integral part of the system and are treated with all due seriousness."