S.C.B.
NOTICES OF AMENDMENTS
given up to and including
Tuesday 9th July 2002
New Amendments handed in are marked thus *
STANDING COMMITTEE B
HOUSING BENEFIT (WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENT) BILL
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
1
Clause 1, page 1, line 2, leave out 'three' and insert 'five'.
Mr Edward Davey
10
*Clause 1, page 1, line 3, after 'individual', insert 'permanently'.
Mr Edward Davey
11
*Clause 1, page 1, line 3, after 'individual', insert 'who for more than twelve months has been'.
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
4
Clause 1, page 1, line 4, leave out 'magistrates'.
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
2
Clause 1, page 1, line 4, leave out 'summary'.
Mr Edward Davey
12
*Clause 1, page 1, line 5, after second 'tenant', insert 'and reasonable attempts to offer support and resettlement services have been refused'.
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
3
Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out 'Secretary of State may' and insert 'court concerned on the most recent occasion may order the Secretary of State to'.
Mr Edward Davey
13
*Clause 1, page 1, line 8, leave out 'twelve' and insert 'six'.
Mr Edward Davey
15
*Clause 1, page 1, line 8, at end insert 'provided that in the case of a tenant of a registered social landlord the Secretary of State shall first obtain the agreement of the registered social landlord'.
Mr Edward Davey
16
*Clause 1, page 1, line 8, at end insert 'provided that in the case of a tenant of a local authority the Secretary of State shall first obtain the agreement of the local authority'.
Mr Edward Davey
17
*Clause 1, page 1, line 8, at end insert 'provided that in the case of a tenant of a public body the Secretary of State shall first obtain the agreement of the public body and in this section the term public body includes—
| (b) | a registered social landlord |
| (c) | a government department |
| (d) | a police authority and |
| (e) | a health authority or primary care trust'. |
Mr Edward Davey
14
*Clause 1, page 1, line 8, at end insert—
'(1A) A local housing authority or a local social services authority may make recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding the withholding of benefit under subsection (1) above and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to consider all such recommendations before taking any action under subsection (1)'.
Mr Edward Davey
18
*Clause 1, page 1, line 9, after 'means', insert 'a pattern of consistent'.
Mr Edward Davey
19
*Clause 1, page 1, line 9, after second 'behaviour', insert 'consistently'.
Mr Edward Davey
20
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, leave out from 'cause' to end and insert 'serious harm, harassment, alarm or distress to others where the behaviour is either linked to the occupation of the home or occurs in the locality of the home'.
Mr Edward Davey
25
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, leave out 'or' and insert 'and'.
Mr Edward Davey
23
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add 'and which in the opinion of the Secretary of State cannot better be dealt with in any other way than that specified in this Act'.
Mr Edward Davey
24
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add 'and which in the opinion of—
| (a) | the Secretary of State and |
| (b) | the local housing authority and |
| (c) | the local social services authority |
cannot better be dealt with in any other way than that specified in this Act'.
Mr Edward Davey
21
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add—
'(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) the Secretary of State may only withhold any payment of housing benefit if he is satisfied that exceptional hardship will not result for the tenant or any person who resides with them.'.
Mr Edward Davey
22
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add—
'(3) In paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Act 1998 (decisions against which an appeal lies), after sub-paragraph (e) there shall be inserted "; or
| (f) | section 1 of the Housing Benefit (Withholding of Payment) Act 2002.".'. |
Mr Edward Davey
26
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add—
'(3) The Secretary of State shall not take any action pursuant to subsection (1) above until he has given any person against whom any such action is intended to be taken a reasonable opportunity to make representations to him or any person appointed by him as to why such action should not be taken.'.
Mr Edward Davey
27
*Clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end add—
'(3) The Secretary of State shall not take any action pursuant to subsection (1) above until he has received the advice of a case conference called for the purpose of considering the proposed action.
(4) For the purposes of this section a case conference is a meeting called by the Secretary of State of all agencies which he considers may be able to offer him guidance and notwithstanding the generality the following persons shall be invited to such a meeting, namely—
| (a) | a representative of the local housing authority |
| (b) | a representative of the local social services authority |
| (c) | a representative of the local police |
| (d) | the person or persons against whom action is proposed to be taken.'. |
Mr Malcolm Wicks
6
*Page 1, line 1, leave out Clause 1
Mr Edward Davey
28
*Clause 2, page 1, line 13, after 'individual', insert 'permanently'.
Mr Edward Davey
29
*Clause 2, page 1, line 13, after 'individual', insert 'who for more than twelve months has been'.
Mr Malcolm Wicks
7
*Page 1, line 11, leave out Clause 2
Mr Edward Davey
30
*Clause 3, page 1, line 22, after first 'shall', insert 'subject to section [anti-social behaviour commission] above.'.
Mr Malcolm Wicks
8
*Clause 3, page 1, line 23, at end insert—
'(2A) An order under subsection (2) may make—
| (a) | different provision for different purposes or different areas, and |
| (b) | such supplementary and incidental provision as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate.' |
NEW CLAUSES
Effect on child
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'( ) Before any decision to withhold payment of housing benefit is made regard must be had to the effect of this on the welfare of any children in such a household.'.
Representations
Mr David Willetts
Mr James Clappison
Mr Tim Boswell
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'( ) In making a decision to withhold payment of housing benefit regard may be had to representations from any person affected by the anti-social behaviour concerned.'.
Anti-social behaviour declarations: criminal proceedings
Mr Malcolm Wicks
NC3
*To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies where—
| (a) | on any occasion a person ("the offender") is convicted of one or more offences by or before a court, but |
| (b) | a custodial sentence of a year or more is not imposed on the offender in respect of the conviction, or any of the convictions. |
(2) If it appears to the prosecutor that, by reason of any or all of the conduct giving rise to the conviction or convictions, the offender may have behaved in an anti-social manner, the prosecutor must notify the court to that effect.
(3) Where—
| (a) | the court is notified under subsection (2), and |
| (b) | it is satisfied that, by reason of any or all of the conduct giving rise to the conviction or convictions, the offender has behaved in an anti-social manner, |
it must make a declaration that he has so behaved.
(4) A declaration under this section must specify the day on which the conduct in respect of which it is made occurred or, if that conduct occurred on more than one day, the earliest and latest days on which it occurred.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a person has behaved in an anti-social manner if his conduct caused, or was likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons (not of the same household as himself) residing in, visiting, or otherwise engaged in lawful activity in, the locality of his home.
(6) In this section—
| (a) | any reference to a conviction includes a conviction in relation to which a court makes an order for a conditional discharge (but not a conviction in relation to which a court makes an order for an absolute discharge), and |
| (b) | "custodial sentence"— |
| (i) | in relation to England and Wales, has the meaning given in section 76 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c.6), and |
| (ii) | in relation to Scotland, means a sentence as defined in section 307(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46). |
(7) In section 50 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (c.19) (meaning of "sentence"), in subsection (1), after paragraph (h) insert "; and
| (i) | a declaration under section (anti-social behaviour declarations: criminal proceedings) of the Housing Benefit (Withholding of Payment) Act 2002 (anti-social behaviour declarations: criminal proceedings)." |
(8) In section 108 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c.43) (rights of appeal), at the end of subsection (3) insert "and a declaration under section (anti-social behaviour declarations: criminal proceedings) of the Housing Benefit (Withholding of Payment) Act 2002 (anti-social behaviour declarations: criminal proceedings)."
(9) For the purposes of any appeal or review, a declaration under this section made by a court in Scotland is a sentence.'.
