"The report, which was financed by Mastercard..."

Spotted by Bob E in The Guardian:

Social security benefits such as universal credit and crisis loans should be issued on debit card-style cards, despite fears that they will enable authorities to block recipients from spending the cash on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling, according to a report by the thinktank Demos...

Polling carried out by Demos for the report found that 59% of the public supported some form of state control over benefits, with support highest for controls on payments to claimants with gambling or substance addictions (77%). Over half of respondents identified "things that are bad for your health" such as smoking and booze as areas on which benefits should not be spent.(1)

The report, which was financed by Mastercard, found that use of the cards is already widespread among English local authorities, with a quarter using them to issue personal budget payments to social care service-users. Of those local authorities not using the cards for personal social care budgets, a third said they plan to introduce them over the next 12 months, with many attracted by the apparent opportunity to make substantial savings in administrative and audit costs.

1) Common sense tells us that it is impossible to spend more than a fifth of your benefits on smoking and booze, for the simple reason that four-fifths of the cost is taxes thereon. A benefit claimant - or an old age pensioner for that matter - who "spends" £20 a week on booze and fags is actually only spending £4 on tobacco and alcohol, the other £16 goes straight back to the government, so effectively, this person's benefits or pension is being reduced by £16 a week automatically.