Cabinet revolt forces Blair to drop truant plan

Tony Blair's plan to cut child benefit payments to the parents of persistent offenders and truants is expected to be shelved after a cabinet revolt and criticism by Whitehall that it would be unworkable.

And in another setback to Mr Blair's drive to implement his "rights and responsibilities" agenda, a government-backed Bill to withdraw housing benefit from "anti-social" neighbours is also unlikely to become law, due to lack of parliamentary time.

Although the Prime Minister has not given up hope of finding a way to link child benefit to behaviour, cabinet ministers are convinced that he will be forced to back down in the face of opposition led by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, and the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, who are worried that vulnerable families would be penalised.

Andrew Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is also arguing against the plan after being warned by his officials that it could scupper plans to bring in more customer-friendly benefit offices.

In its evidence to a team of officials looking into Mr Blair's plan, the Department of Work and Pensions warned that the idea was completely unworkable.

A Whitehall source said: "It would turn the system upside down. The department has just gone through a very painful industrial dispute to ensure that the screens which divide officials and claimants are removed from benefit offices.

"Are these new personal advisers going to tell people their benefit is to be cut because of their children's behaviour? Who would judge which families would have their benefit cut? You would need an army of officials to implement it."

Mr Brown will have a crucial say in whether the plan will be blocked. From next April, child benefit will become the responsibility of the Inland Revenue, which comes under the Treasury's wing. The benefit will also become one element in a new integrated child credit, which is one of Mr Brown's flagship schemes, making it more complicated to cut.

Aides distanced the Chancellor from the inter-departmental review of the Blair plan, saying: "It is nothing to do with the Treasury." Another Brown ally said: "We doubt this will ever see the light of day."

But Mr Blair's official spokesman insisted last night: "Work is ongoing on the practicalities, but the whole issue of rights and responsibilities is very much on the agenda."

The Prime Minister believes that making child benefit conditional on good behaviour would send a powerful signal to parents. His officials say that the recent jailing of Patricia Amos, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, whose two teenage daughters persistently played truant, has acted as a strong deterrent.

Mr Blair, who chaired another meeting yesterday of a task force set up to combat street crime, said in April: "There seems there is no issue that matters more to people than anti-social behaviour and street crime ... We must try to make sure that if the state is giving money to these people, there is some responsibility back in return."

Under a private member's Bill introduced by Frank Field, the former minister for welfare reform, anti-social residents could lose more than 50 per cent of their housing benefit as part of a crackdown on "neighbours from hell". The measure is due to reach its report stage in the Commons today. Although ministers have expressed support in principle, they now believe it is unlikely to win enough time to complete its passage through the Commons and Lords.

Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education, said the jailing of Mrs Amos had helped to cut truancy. She appeared to back the Blair plan last month when she said: "I think we have to say to parents that in this society, that is the deal; you make that effort and we have a system of benefits and support to help you."

Mrs Amos was sent to prison after her daughters Emma, 15, and Jackie, 13, repeatedly missed classes despite 71 attempts by the education authority to contact her.