Legal News
Fine Defaulters to Face Benefits Cut (1 November 2011)
Date: 01/11/2011
The Government is set to introduce a new measure for individuals who fail to meet the cost of fines handed out for criminal convictions. Under the new scheme, fine defaulters could lose a maximum of £25 per week in benefits. Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed that the measure would act as a deterrent, describing the current system as “too soft”. Under the current system, individuals who fail to meet the cost of their fines on time face a weekly deduction in payment benefits. The increase in benefit deduction loss for fine defaulters will come into force in 2013. A £25 weekly deduction in benefit payments would represent 37 per cent of the current jobseeker’s allowance rate.
Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has told of how the recent civil unrest showed that many individuals failed to consider the consequences of the crimes that they committed. Mr. Duncan Smith believes that if criminals were faced with benefit loss, they would be made to face the full consequences of their actions. Of the 1,350 individuals who appeared in court for participating in the civil unrest of August, 40 per cent were on welfare benefits. Liam Byrne, the Shadow Work and Pension Secretary, claimed that it was vital for criminals to face tough consequences for the crimes that they commit. Stephen Lloyd, an Eastbourne-based Lib Dem MP, described the measure as “drastic” but supported the Government’s aim to break the benefit cycle.
Duncan Lewis’ welfare benefits solicitors are able to use their expert knowledge to advise benefits’ claimants on their eligibility for financial support.