As part of the Respect programme, John Hutton Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced that the Government intends to pilot a scheme that ensures that people who are evicted as a result of anti-social behaviour undertake rehabilitation.
The new measure will sanction Housing Benefit where a person has been evicted for anti-social behaviour and refuses to address their behaviour using the support and help offered to them. The Government emphasised that this measure is not about changing the eviction process but about getting people to change their behaviour and will only operate where the household has chosen not to co-operate. The overall objective is to achieve a culture of self-respect, respect for others, and respect for community.
Under the pilot proposals:
If a household is evicted on grounds of anti-social behaviour, the members of the household concerned will be offered appropriate rehabilitation. The rehabilitation will be provided through existing services.
If the household does not engage with the referral and rehabilitation process, a local authority will be able to issue a warning notice if it considers it to be appropriate to do so. This will ask the household to engage with the rehabilitation.
If the household does not comply, without good cause, with the warning notice, that household will be sanctioned when they claim Housing Benefit.
The sanction will increase incrementally: a 10% loss of Benefit for 4 weeks, 20% for a further 4 weeks and then a total removal for up to 5 years if they do not co-operate. Lower rates will apply to those in hardship. Those people who are sanctioned will have the right to appeal to the Tribunal Service.
The offer of support can be accepted at any stage in this process, at which point the Benefit payment would be reinstated.
John Hutton said: "Communities are fed up of the disruption caused by people who show no respect for their neighbours.
"The threat of sanctioning Housing Benefit will send clear signal to the handful of people evicted each year for anti-social behaviour that they must address their problem behaviour and engage in rehabilitation.
"It is not right that people who get evicted should be able simply to move to another area and continue their bad behaviour. These anti-social neighbours must realise they have reached the end of the line. The right to Housing Benefit must and will carry a responsibility to be a decent neighbour."
The new measure was announced at a Cabinet Committee meeting on Anti Social Behaviour and the Respect programme.
Primary legislation is needed before the pilot can be introduced and the Government intend to legislate for this as soon as is practicable.
The Government has written to key stakeholders to seek their views on the implementation of pilots. The intention is to start pilots in 2008, targeting around 10 local authorities.
Responding to the welfare reform green paper, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed the Government will not be taking forward legislation to extend the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) approach to the social housing sector. This signals the demise of the controversial proposal to pay Housing Benefit direct to social housing tenants.
It is understood that the Government has been persuaded by arguments against the proposal and are now rethinking its strategy. Proposals for LHA in the private sector are unaffected by the change of course and reforms to Housing Benefit are believed to still be high on the agenda.
