Should parents of children who commit criminal offences have their benefits cut?
The UK government is strengthening parenting orders so parents of children who commit crimes or cause anti-social behaviour must attend counselling or face fines up to £1,000 and, in extreme cases, jail. Use of these orders has fallen sharply from over 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23. Recent reforms focus on earlier family intervention and support rather than cutting benefits to children, with policy instead aimed at reducing child poverty through measures such as scrapping the two-child benefit limit.
8 Opinions
Yes, but with a clear threshold, not a blanket rule. If parents repeatedly refuse to take responsibility for their kids and undermine the police whilst their kids terrorise the neighbourhood, commit crimes and cause ASB, I don’t see why taxpayers should keep providing unconditional financial support.
Make the parents accountable for their feral spawn.
Benefits exist to protect children from poverty, and pushing low-income households further into financial crisis directly fuels the social deprivation that drives youth crime in the first place. Also what if said offender has innocent siblings? Needless harm to them
Do people really think that the idiotic kids who are out committing crimes really think about their family's long term future? They don't think more than a day ahead. Penalising for example a single mother on benefits because one of her kids commits a minor crime doesn't seem fair and eradicates any chance of saving the family from the situation.
I cannot see how this will help. What the parents need is more support to help with the wayward child. You can't make life more difficult for parents who, no doubt are already at their wits end with a difficult child. Punishing the parents is cruel and is not going to help anyone. Just satisfy those who think more, harsher punishment is the way to go, more laws, more rules, instead of educating children with the difference between right and wrong.
I do not believe it would fix anything, especially if we are dealing with problematic family, where lots of members have criminal record as well or single parent one where the parents totally lost control over the child or children. If young persona reoffends or committed serious crime, young offenders' institution or youth custody center can be used. The youngsters need to change live environment and start reeducation as soon as possible.