Plans to withhold benefits paused

The government is cracking down on 'nightmare neighbours'

The government has shelved proposals to withhold housing benefits from anti-social neighbours.

Ministers said they wanted to judge the effectiveness of existing measures before bringing in new legislation.

Minister for Work and Pensions Chris Pond said not everyone was convinced removing the benefits was the right way to tackle anti-social behaviour.

He said the government had already introduced other measures such as anti-social behaviour orders.

People who won't accept that rights come with responsibilities face tough penalties Minister for Work and Pensions Chris Pond

Mr Pond said: "All these measures will give councils a varied tool-kit to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour in their own areas.

"We want to judge the effectiveness of the range of existing measures before introducing a new one.

"Nightmare neighbours should be aware that local authorities, local communities and the government are united in their determination to stamp out this unacceptable behaviour.

"People who won't accept that rights come with responsibilities face tough penalties."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats accused Labour of trying to conceal what they described as an "embarrassing climb-down" on a day dominated by the top-up fees debate.