Cutting benefits for offenders
The Government has announced proposals to dramatically increase
the deduction from benefits to meet fine payments for those
convicted of criminal offences. At the moment the maximum deduction
is £5 per week. The new proposal is to increase this to an eye
watering £25.00.
Justifying the policy, the Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'I
do not want to be in the business of leaving people without any
money to support themselves but, equally, individuals must know
that they cannot commit crime that impacts on the livelihoods and
the communities of hard-working people without consequences.' You
can read more here.
So if we have someone under-25 years old on jobseekers allowance
their benefit would go from £53.45 to £28.48 a week. That's a
reduction of over 50%. For the over 25's the reduction is about
37%. What is alarming is that the starting figures are supposed to
represent the minimum required to live on. Equally those on
disability benefits stand to lose a significant reduction in what
is provided to mitigate the impact of their disability.
Now it is certainly arguable that this can constitute a double
penalty. An offender is properly sentenced for the offence and
addition has income reduced to well below subsistence levels.
But it is also potentially unlawful. The Human Rights Act 1998
says that it is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way
which is incompatible with a Convention right. So if the government
enacts legislation or introduces sentencing guidelines which breach
such rights they are open to attack. Article 3 of the European
Convention on Human Rights prohibits 'inhuman or degrading
treatment punishment'.
If the state, on the one hand, says that a certain minimum
weekly income is required for basic subsistence then to reduce that
figure by over 50% it is not only disproportionate but also, in my
view, inhuman or degrading. It might of course be argued that if
the claimants got a job that they would be no worse off. But in the
current economic climate that is unrealistic, especially for young
people. The argument is stronger again for those on disability
benefits who are unable to work.
The right wing press would respond that this is why they want to
get rid of the Human Rights Act. But we are told that a replacement
would be a British Bill of Rights. So is the plan to introduce a
Bill of rights that would abolish our right not to be subjected to
subject to inhuman or degrading punishment? Part of me dismisses
that as unthinkable but who knows?
It would be interested to see how the courts would respond to
this - provided anyone can get legal aid to access the courts
following the government's new
legal aid Bill.
Written by Steve Cornforth
http://thejusticegap.com/2011/11/cutting-benefits-for-offenders/