30 January 2004
Local authority representatives have welcomed the government's decision to abandon controversial proposals to withhold housing benefit from antisocial tenants after a consultation exercise revealed that the vast majority of respondents opposed the idea.
Richard Kemp, vice chair of the Local Government Association's housing executive, said: 'This has finally put the lid on a misconceived idea that would have been both unfair – with no equivalent penalty for those not in receipt of housing benefit – and fraught with practical difficulties.
'Docking housing benefit from those already on low incomes would only drive people further into poverty and run the risk of creating homelessness,' he added.
The proposal was first floated in May 2003 when the consultation was launched and enthusiastically endorsed by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Work and Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith said then: 'The government sympathises with those who question whether it is right for the state to support the housing costs of people whose behaviour brings misery to the lives of individuals and communities.'
But an analysis of the consultation's responses showed that, overall, 75% of people objected to the idea, including 81% of local authority respondents and 97% of registered social landlords.
Minister for work and pensions Chris Pond said there was already a 'wide range of tools' government could use to tackle antisocial behaviour
PFjan2004
