Plan to cut drug addicts' benefits

Ms Smith was speaking ahead of the publication of the Government's new 10-year drug strategy, which will reveal proposals to shake up the welfare system, effectively punishing drug abusers who fail to take steps to get clean.

In another radical move, grandparents will be encouraged to look after children whose parents are addicts, and social workers will intervene earlier when children are growing up around drug-users.

Under the new strategy, schools will also be encouraged to improve anti-drugs lessons.

Meanwhile, Ms Smith said the authorities would ensure that "dealing drugs doesn't pay" by seizing valuables from suspected drug barons even before they are charged with a crime. Assets such as plasma TVs and jewellery - as well as larger items such as cars and yachts - would be confiscated on arrest to deny them the opportunity to conceal them in the weeks or months before their trial.

The plans have already been attacked by shadow home secretary David Davis and civil liberties groups, who queried the legality of seizing goods before convictions.

Ms Smith set out her plans to withhold benefit payments in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"If somebody is on work-related benefits or incapacity benefit and what is stopping them from getting back into work is their drug problem, what we are saying today is that we will expect people as a minimum to come and have an appointment - a meeting - with a specialist drug treatment adviser," she said.

"Ninety-six per cent of people can get into treatment within three weeks now and actually it is not unreasonable for somebody who is on benefits to be expected to talk to people about how they can get into treatment, get off drugs and back into work again."

Ms Smith said there were signs that an increase in drug treatment programmes over the past three or four years were having an impact on rates of acquisitive crime by users seeking money to fund their habits. But she said it could take up to seven years for addicts to become drug-free, and it would be 10 years before the full results of the programmes are seen.