星空传媒

In a pledge made on Wednesday after the general election was confirmed for 5 May, party leader Michael Howard said the Conservatives would give councils 鈥渢he power to withhold housing benefit from families whose immediate members are convicted three or more times of antisocial behaviour鈥�.

Howard made the pledge despite the housing sector鈥檚 misgivings about a similar proposal put forward by Labour MP Frank Field three years ago.

At the time, the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Housing Federation and the Local Government Association highlighted a number of problems with the plan, including its adverse effect on reducing homelessness (HT 13 June 2002, page 13).

A Conservative party spokeswoman said this week: 鈥淭he withholding of housing benefit would, unlike Labour鈥檚 proposal, be effective because it would be used in conjunction with other powers.鈥�

Additional powers proposed include delaying the right of antisocial youngsters to obtain a driving licence if they do not already have one.

But the LGA said the Tory proposals were not feasible.

Richard Kemp, deputy chair of the LGA, said: 鈥淭hese proposals were widely panned by local government as they are wholly unworkable. You could have five law-abiding members of a family and one that is uncontrollable. Often these families are highly dependent on housing benefit.

If it鈥檚 withheld, they鈥檒l steal.

鈥淭his is not a solution, it merely shifts the problem.鈥�

A CIH spokesman said benefit docking could reduce landlords鈥� ability to control antisocial behaviour. 鈥淭hese measures take away the discretion of landlords to take the most effective course of action when tackling antisocial behaviour,鈥� he said.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Mark Oaten MP said far too many antisocial behaviour orders were failing to have an effect.