A bid to give courts greater access to deduct fine payments from benefits was stalled by MLCs in Tynwald last week.

At present, if a defendant is fined, the court can seek deductions of between £1 and £20 per week from the following benefits to go towards payment of a fine: incapacity benefit; Categories A and B retirement pensions; income support; employed person’s allowance; jobseekers’ allowance and the pension supplement.

Tynwald was asked last week to extend the number of benefits in the scheme.

But David Cretney MLC queried why some benefits, including child benefit, maternity and paternity allowance and nursing care contributions remained exempt, because they concerned care for the elderly or raising a family, but others, including disability living allowance and carers’ allowance, were not.

Although the Keys voted 21-3 in favour of the change, the Legislative Council voted 3-2 against. The Treasury plans to bring it back next month, when the branches can vote as one.

Those against were: Keys, Caine, Edge, Hooper; Council - Coleman, Corkish, Cretney.