Nightmare neighbours could have benefits cut under new plan to tackle anti-social behaviour

By
Leon Watson

Last updated at 1:37 PM on 30th December 2011

Nightmare neighbours could lose more than £500 a year in benefits under a pioneering council plan.

More than 23,000 people in Westminster have been warned their council tax benefit in future is likely to be linked to how they act.

The central London council is the first to consider reducing or taking away benefits from those causing a nuisance to society.

Everybody needs good neighbours: Westminster Council plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour by threatening to reduce benefit payments

Everybody needs good neighbours: Westminster Council plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour by threatening to reduce benefit payments

Everybody needs good neighbours: Westminster Council plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour by threatening to reduce benefit payments

More local authorities are expected to draw up similar plans to tackle anti-social behaviour as they prepare to take full control of council tax benefit from 2013.

Under the Westminster plan, an average household could see its benefit reduced by anything between £56 and £560, depending on the seriousness of any misbehaviour.

Philippa Roe, Westminster’s cabinet member for housing, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘People who are paying taxes shouldn’t be paying them to people who are making their lives a misery through anti-social behaviour’.

‘Financial incentives can sometimes focus minds to make people behave in a more responsible way. Gone are the times you can get something for nothing.’

She said criminal activity would incur the worst penalties, with smaller cuts to benefit for low-level anti-social behaviour. Being a member of a gang could also potentially incur the loss of benefits.

Benefit claimants would have to be causing persistent problems and their behaviour would be thoroughly assessed by council officials to make sure benefit was not being docked because of malicious tip-offs.

Councillors at Westminster City Hall have proposed reducing offenders' benefits by anything between £56 and £560

Councillors at Westminster City Hall have proposed reducing offenders’ benefits by anything between £56 and £560

Westminster is also considering docking the council tax benefits of people who are not making an effort to get a job.

Cllr Roe said that for every Westminster resident on council tax benefits, there were ‘seven vacancies in low-skilled jobs like shelf-stacking, waitressing and window cleaning’.

If agreed after a consultation, the proposals would come into force in just over a year and would affect all claimants except for pensioners.

Currently, only claimants who have been jailed see their benefits cut, while other punishments, like community service, do not lead to any loss of payments.

Following this summer’s riots, David Cameron backed plans to reduce benefits or evict council tenants if they were involved in the looting.

The Prime Minister has announced plans to increase the maximum level of fines payments for criminals on benefits from £5 a week to £25 per week.

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Oh dear you can’t do that! What about their human rights!

I say double their benefits! If they will relocate to Australia.

Isnt this the same westminster council that illegally sold off its housing stock cheap to tory voters whose millionaire leader was deemed to poor to pay off her fines? Isnt that criminal behaviour and isnt she still recieving council pension? so lets start at the top and work our way down .

We will wait and see??????

Yes, by all means turn your courts over to council employees. A noise violation, or anything else deemed “anti-social”, is already a matter of the law, is it not? Adjudicating it by bureaurocratic decree using taxation is beyond obscene and a clear intent to bypass consensual law and due process and impose tyranny. This is just an obvious fact.

There is no reason for my taxes to be subsidising anyone on benefits who “wants” to live in Westminster/Chelsea etc. If these local authorities own social housing in these expensive areas, they should be made to sell their stock and buy more affordable housing in outer areas. Keeping one feckless family living on benefits in Westminster/Chelsea/Kensington etc is absurd when several feckless families can be housed in outer areas with the same amount of money!

I missed the bit about how people who are not receiving benefit will be treated

With goverment policy aiding the creation of ghettos and no go areas, no death penalty and overfilled prisons. I can see the goverment going back on their word again, but not surprised. Camerons priority, his refurbished home, not much to say about politics.

Why do people assume those in council housing are on benefits ? Most aren’t.

WESTMINSTER IS HELL BENT IN GETTING RID OF SOCIAL HOUSING, THE CLASS RIDDEN COUNCIL ARE TAKING THEIR LEAD FROM LADY PORTER
– man on a soap box, sidcup——————————————————————
And so they should – there’s no reason why benefit-class families should live in the centre of London – they should be moved to outer areas. These social housing flats should be reserved for working-class families who work in London instead of having to commute for hours.

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