The Housing Minister, Grant Shapps MP, has outlined new plans by the Government to make it easier to evict problem tenants from social housing.

The plans, which are now out for consultation, propose to allow previous convictions for anti-social behaviour to be taken into account, so where the situation has not improved, landlords can act swiftly to evict problem tenants. This will shorten the often long and expensive process which requires landlords to prove again the antisocial actions of their tenants.

Richard welcomed the news. Since becoming MP, he has heard from a number of local residents who suffer from anti-social neighbours. These proposals will help to shift the balance back in favour of the law-abiding victims of nightmare neighbours.

It is estimated that the courts make 3,000 eviction orders for anti-social behaviour against social tenants each year and on average, it can take seven months from applying for a possession order to being granted one, often taking much longer if a defendant fails to turn up to court.

Of course eviction should only ever be the last resort – but too often the rights of victims have come second to those of the people making their lives a misery.

More information on the consultation, including how to respond, can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government’s website. The deadline for responses is 5pm on Thursday 27 October.

Reviewing the latest crime statistics with Cllr Mingay outside the High Street Bank that was robbed recently

The recent robbery in Bedford’s High Street shows that violent crime remains a real concern for our town. It is alarming that the latest Bedfordshire police figures show that only one in ten serious acquisitive crimes are detected. This is below target and also well below the level that reasonable people have a right to expect. 

The changes to Bedfordshire police budgets are not helping. Policing Luton Airport is a major drain on our Bedfordshire Police resources. We are already under-resourced in Bedfordshire and it is wrong that the Government is proposing to cut funding for policing the airport further – by £380,000 – in next year’s budget. 

I have real concerns about the low detection rates for serious crimes in Bedfordshire and misjudged budget priorities being imposed on our local police service. A Conservative government will reduce paperwork to enable the police to focus on police work – it currently takes over eleven and a half hours to process an arrest – and make police accountable to a local, directly elected individual who will set priorities for policing their local community