The government has published its white paper on anti-social behaviour and disorder.

Announcing plans which will see beggars criminalised and drunks fined, David Blunkett set himself on a collision course with civil rights campaigners, pledging to fight the "scourge" of anti-social behaviour.

Speaking in the Commons the home secretary warned that "rights and responsibilities" must go hand in hand.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office welcomed ePolitix Forum comments today, stating: "Anti-social behaviour lights people's lives, it destroys families, damages communities and degrades our environment. A small anti-social minority can ruin the lives of a law-abiding majority.

"We have listened to local authorities, businesses, community groups and police who have put up with this anti-social behaviour. This is why we need to take a stand so people can live free from harassment and distress."

Forum Response: Novas-Ouvertures Group

Maria Donoghue, group chief executive for Novas-Ouvertures, said: "Turning beggars into criminals is a short-term response and not a long-term solution. People who beg on the streets are often the most vulnerable, isolated people in our society. Street beggars have often had years of being in a 'revolving door' system, going in and out of hostelsand detox programmes.

"Certainly, begging should not be encouraged, as it can feed drug and alcohol dependency and takes away from people the life-changing choices, support and hope that homelessness services can offer.

"Police and social services should have the powers to compel people who beg to take up some form of service that will help them out of the 'revolving door' cycle. More choices should be made available to people who beg, such as wet daycentres and hostels, multiple dependency services and employment and learning opportunities that offer people a hope for the future and not a criminal record."

Forum Brief: National Black Police Association

A spokesman for the National Black Police Association told ePolitix.com: "The national Black Police Association welcomes any legislation designed to enhance the quality of life, for the communities within the UK. It is believed that these measures are a step in the right direction.

"However it is felt that caution should be exercised and lessons learnt from previous legislation open to interpretation and discrimination amongst people of different cultures.

"Every effort should be made to avoid a misinterpretation of cultural behaviour for that of anti-social behaviour, therefore adequate supervision and monitoring of such legislation is essential in order to develop the confidence of the ethnic minority communities."

Forum Response: Shelter

Adam Sampson, director of Shelter, said: "Shelter works with those who are the victims of anti social behaviour and we recognise it is a real problem with far reaching effects on society and something must be done to deal with it.

"However, taking away housing benefit is not an effective way of tackling anti-social behaviour and would cause homelessness and exacerbate poverty among poor families. Tenants and communities need solutions that will tackle the underlying cause of the problem, rather than simply moving it on to a new set of neighbours."

Forum Brief: British National Temperance League

Peter Swales, chairman for BNTL, told ePolitix.com: "The spirit of the new bill is welcomed by BNTL as it must be by most all people who are concerned by a marked fall in general behaviour in our country, but we feel it is too little too late - and a shame other views, like ours, were not listened to earlier.

"It seems to me that the decline in standards, and corresponding rise in so called anti-social behaviour is a direct result of more liberal licensing laws regarding alcohol, and the incredibly confused message being given to young people in particular, but not only young people, regarding the government's attitude to the use of drugs; both legal and at presently illegal - or are they? Who knows any more?

"There has been a growing 'laissez fare' attitude from politicians of all parties, which has gone unchallenged by the general public, leading to an amoral attitude to use of alcohol and its resultant hedonistic behaviour.

"Our reputation in European holiday resorts confirms this, the scenes of utter carnage and human degradation in almost any town or city centre at the weekend proves the point, reports of an ongoing drink culture in sport - especially football and rugby - are almost laughed off by reporters, themselves not averse to a drink and quick to mock those who do not.

"No wonder children grow up in a society that condones the root cause of the damage we are now trying to minimise - too little, too late.

"People no longer go out to enjoy themselves, and maybe have a drink or two, but go out with the sole intention of getting absolutely smashed out of their heads - sadly, all too often innocent bystanders are damaged too in fights, crime, or road traffic accidents caused by drinkers.

"Authority figures such as police officers and other uniformed services are ignored, abused or ridiculed which leads to a total break down in social order and respect. That in turn affects almost every other aspect of life, some of which seem unconnected on the face of it, but are directly related and cause immense damage and distress; including fly-tipping, squatting, begging, shop lifting - how far is that from anarchy?

"If this sounds negative or even gloomy, so does Mr Blunkett's pronouncements today - and it is just a shame that others have not had the foresight to see the inevitable outcome of such rapidly falling standards.

"We have consistently shared our concerns, and been roundly ignored by the Home Office, and sadly the Church of England board of social responsibility who have also ignored the warnings and adopted a liberal attitude, supporting the Brixton scheme on cannabis and its downgrading - all part of the root cause, I fear.

"What price now a zero tolerance to drink-driving which does not appear in the bill? Oh dear. Maybe this is a start, but it needs careful surveillance, and I really do believe it is too little, too late."

Forum Brief: Crime Concern

Nigel Whiskin, chief executive of Crime Concern, said: "No one disagrees that we need protecting from offenders whose conduct poses a physical threat or whose persistent offending threatens destroys to quality of life for the rest of the community.

"But if we are serious about reducing crime long-term we have to put much more effort and investment into preventing anti-social behaviour in the first place, through programmes that give young people a stake in their community and through intensive interventions with families facing - and causing - multiple problems.

"In the past year, Crime Concern has supported crime reduction initiatives in more than a hundred or more disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Much of our work with young people is conducted in communities where neighbourhoods and schools are under pressure. In most of these neighbourhoods, there is very little for young people to do and very few adults taking any interest in them.

"The success of projects like Youth Inclusion Programmes and Mentoring Programmes prove that preventive programmes - including activity programmes, one-to-one and family support - can reach some of the most at- risk youngsters, and make a real difference. These projects have produced impressive falls in crime, anti-social behaviour and school exclusions. And these are better and cheaper than prison.

"Finding solutions to youth crime can only be achieved through working within the community and investing in offering young people a better opportunity to use their energy and creativity in a positive way."

Forum Response: British Property Federation

A spokesman for the British Property Federation told ePolitix.com: "The British Property Federation believes that all tenants have a right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes and therefore welcomes measures to tackle anti-social behaviour. We support in principle the measures set out in the white paper, which seek to strengthen the legislation dealing with nuisance neighbours.

"However, we are concerned that any new legislation should not be confined to Registered Social Landlords, but be available across all housing tenures. Making it easier to remove tenants from social housing simply shifts the problem to the private rented sector, which is less well equipped and supported to deal with such tenants.

"There are already a range of measures in legislation that deal with this issue, such as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, and the BPF welcomes the announcement in the white paper of improvements to the enforcement of ASBOs. As part of any solution it is important to learn why these are not being more widely used in the private sector. The government must take a holistic approach so that legislation is working effectively for the benefit of all local communities, tenants and landlords."

Forum Response: Depression Alliance

Jim Thomson, director of Depression Alliance, told ePolitix com: "Depression Alliance welcomes any measures which seek to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour. This problem directly affects the quality of life of many people but especially those who experience abuse because of race or disability. Studies show that people affected by mental illness are twice as likely to experience violent or anti-social behaviour.

"We hope that this drive to tackle anti-social behaviour will not fail as so many before it have. We also hope that these measures will not allow the socially disadvantaged to be punished yet further."

Forum response: Barnardo's

Pam Hibbert, principal policy officer for Barnardo's said: "Despite the good intentions, some of the consequences of the measures outlined in the white paper could further criminalise children and parents and separate families, leading to more children ending up in the care and custody system. And in the long term this will do nothing to address the concerns people have about anti-social behaviour by children.

"Removing automatic newspaper reporting restrictions on young people subject to anti-social behaviour orders is likely to confirm young people in their behaviour rather than deter them. What we do know about children who act up is that they become locked into this way of behaving and this measure is likely to perpetuate this.

"The idea of intensive fostering is contrary to the spirit of the 1989 Children Act, which says that children should not be removed from their families unless there are serious grounds of risk to the child or others.

"If the aim of intensive fostering is, firstly, to change criminal and anti-social behaviour and, secondly, to provide good parenting experience, then the breaking of strong familial attachments could be counter-productive.

"Children respond to such detachment by 'acting out' and if they are already engaging in criminal behaviour it is likely that this will increase.

"Reintegrating children into their family after they have been in foster care is fraught with difficulties and often does not work.

"It is wrong to assume that criminal or anti-social behaviour is always the result of poor parenting. However, where there is evidence of neglect or poor attachment, children should be dealt with by the welfare system, not the criminal justice system.

"Barnardo's supports the notion of working with families together to help improve children's behaviour, but the idea of placing parents and children in residential centres for help and parenting classes is impractical. You may improve the behaviour of the family but you are unlikely to change the attitude of their neighbours towards them. When they come back into the community, any hostile reaction of others could undermine any effective work done with them."

Forum Response: The Children's Society

Sharon Moore, policy manager for The Children's Society, said: "The Children's Society is concerned that the government is pressing ahead with unworkable plans. They are sensational and likely to push children towards a career of crime - not guide them away from it.

"Young people are to receive spot fines for nuisance behaviour which they will be forced to pay themselves. This is not going to address the causes of such behaviour. It is a far too simplistic solution that may further alienate and isolate the young people concerned.

"The Children's Society supports the government's view that the Children at Risk Green Paper presents an ideal opportunity to reorganise services to ensure children and their families get the help they need at the earliest possible opportunity. This aims to prevent children becoming involved in anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.

"Many parents tell us that they have often been unable to access help when they have asked for assistance due a lack of resources in their local areas.

"However, The Children's Society is concerned about plans to withhold housing benefit as a punishment for anti-social behaviour. This fails to tackle the root causes of anti-social behaviour and will plunge families even further into poverty.

"We urge the government the reconsider these measures that are likely to push children and families even further to the margins of society."

Forum Brief: Usdaw

John Hannett, Usdaw's deputy general secretary, told ePolitix.com: "Usdaw welcomes the government's efforts to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Usdaw is particularly concerned about the recent increases in retail crime and particularly violence and abuse of shopworkers. Much of this crime is committed by young people, who are often shoplifting to feed a drugs habit.

"In a survey of Usdaw members' experiences over the last twelve months: 47 per cent had experienced physical violence; 72 per cent had experienced threats of violence, and 86 per cent reported incidents of verbal abuse.

"We want the government to look specifically at the problems of retail crime. Many of the measures proposed in this White Paper will help, but we would like to see specific measures for town and shopping centre crime prevention.

"Usdaw would like to see a greater use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders that keeps persistent offenders away from shopping areas, particularly those who have been violent or abusive towards shopworkers. We would also like to see a commitment to safer shopping partnerships involving shopworkers, local authorities, retailers and the police."