COUNCILS will lose funding from Whitehall if they fail to tackle yobs and thugs under plans to be approved by a Cabinet committee today.

Tony Blair has demanded proposals to end the “postcode lottery” under which the extent to which people suffer from antisocial behaviour depends on whether their local authority has set out ways to tackle it.

Under today’s plans the differences would end next April when it would become mandatory for every council to have a formal strategy in place to build respect and deal with bad behaviour. There would have to be “local area agreements” requiring councils to monitor public concerns.

Under the Respect Agenda, the Government has called on councils to get tough by supporting or challenging antisocial households, tackling truancy and providing activities for younger people.

Downing Street said last night: “Everyone deserves the right to be protected from thugs and yobs in their local neighbourhood. The Prime Minister believes that everyone, regardless of where they live, should be able to step outside their front door without suffering fear, harm or abuse.”

From April a council’s record in tackling antisocial behaviour will be taken into account when Whitehall fixes its revenue support grant: there will be penalties for those that fail.

Before today’s meeting, David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “No amount of talking up his Respect Agenda will drive down crime on the streets. Mr Blair should understand that, if he really wants to be tough on crime, what we need is tough policing, tough sentences and competent management of the Home Office.”

Mr Blair will chair today’s meeting, called to assess progress since the publication of his “respect action plan” in January. Highly unusually it will be open to five frontline “witnesses”, including a police officer, a member of the public and a local government official, who will tell ministers how the new powers have been used and what more must be done.

The media will have access to the Cabinet room. Officials said that Mr Blair wanted to show that he was ready to respond to the needs and views of the public in an open forum.

During the local elections Labour claimed, on the basis of figures published last year, that nearly twice as many antisocial behaviour orders were used in Labour areas as in Liberal Democrat areas and three times more than in Tory areas. The party contrasted the success of ASBO measures in Labour-run Camden with the record in Liberal Democrat-run Islington.

Privately, Labour officials admit that areas traditionally run by Labour are often more vulnerable to bad behaviour.

Ministers will also be told today of the progress of efforts to tackle “neighbours from Hell”. By the end of the year the Government hopes to have 50 family intervention schemes in place, under which families are given intensive support to improve their behaviour.

They will also hear of efforts to deal with unruly youngsters through parenting orders and contracts. Since January 13,000 persistent truants in 200 schools have been targeted.

ANTISOCIAL BRITAIN

The number of ASBOs reported to the Home Office by last September was 7,356, including:

1,045 in Manchester
749 in London
554 in the West Midlands
520 in West Yorkshire
329 in Wales
279 in Lancashire
100 in Norfolk
63 in North Yorkshire
32 in Wiltshire
29 in Lincolnshire

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