Individuals subject to control orders are not routinely prevented from taking employment or from receiving state benefits, including where appropriate, job seekers allowance, housing benefit and asylum support. However, if the terms of a control order prevent an individual gaining employment or render him ineligible for other benefits, the Home Office will make necessary subsistence payments.
If an individual subject to a control order is required to move from their current residence, the Home Office may provide suitable alternative accommodation and pay council tax and utility costs.
In some circumstances, the Home Office may pay the line rental for a telephone and/or provide pre-paid telephone cards. This may be appropriate where a controlled person is prohibited by the terms of the control order from using telephones outside his residence and/or using mobile telephones.
All control order obligations are tailored to the individual concerned and in each case must be necessary and proportionate for purposes connected with preventing or restricting involvement by that individual in terrorism-related activity.
Since control orders came into force in 2005, we are aware of two individuals who have been treated for self-inflicted injuries while on a control order. The Home Office, police and (as appropriate) the Prison Service take the mental and physical health of all individuals subject to a control order seriously. This includes monitoring the impact of the control order on the individual’s (and his family’s) physical and mental health; seeking representations from the individual on the impact of the control order on him and his family; and regularly reviewing the control order and its constituent obligations in the light of the order’s impact on the individual’s personal circumstances.