Higher Education: Staffordshire

Debate between Dave Robertson and Adam Jogee

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Adam Jogee]

My hon. Friend and near neighbour has made an excellent submission ahead of the Budget, and I am sure the Minister will relay that point to Treasury colleagues. He makes an important point about connectivity, accessibility and the importance of a transport network that allows people both to benefit from our higher education institutions and to contribute to our local economies.

Keele’s legacy and commitment to the wider community is why it was named among the UK’s best universities at contributing to local growth and regeneration in the recent iteration of the knowledge exchange framework run by Research England. Keele, working with the Bar Council, has advanced the “Keele in Town” programme, which will see the transformation of an empty 19th-century building in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre into a mixed-use facility for the community. It will be kitted out with modern working and meeting spaces, offering digital connectivity to the community and helping to drive productivity.

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Adam Jogee]

I will happily give way to another good man from Staffordshire.

[Dave Robertson]

It is wonderful to contribute to this debate. I had to intervene when my hon. Friend spoke about university campuses, and about university buildings in city centres. My Lichfield constituency does not have a large university campus, but we do have a small satellite campus of the University of Staffordshire that supports our local economy and ensures that much of Staffordshire’s learning is reinvested through its business village.

Does my hon. Friend agree about the importance of making sure that the wealth of these institutions is shared across the entire county, so that everybody can benefit from their investments?

[Adam Jogee]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson)—it is an honour and a privilege to say those words; I do not think many on the Labour Benches thought we would be able to say them. What an excellent decision the people of Lichfield made on 4 July. He raises an important point, because ensuring that people from all backgrounds and communities can access and benefit from education is something that I know this Government will advance. I thank him for making such a powerful point.

Waste Crime: Staffordshire

Debate between Dave Robertson and Adam Jogee

Thursday 5th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Adam Jogee]

My hon. Friend rightly speaks of the importance of cross-agency working to get those issues addressed. I represent a number of farmers in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I know that my farmers will share her farmers’ concerns. I thank her for raising that point. We all have examples of waste crimes that have taken place, yet there are plenty of examples where there is no enforcement or prosecution. Has the Minister assessed the adequacy of the long list of offences, and if so, is she happy with them? If she is not, what is the plan to ensure that we get that right?

The impacts of waste crime are widespread, with adverse effects on our constituents, businesses, public services, the environment and the economy. For example, illegal waste sites can pollute the environment through the release of noise, dust, surface or groundwater contamination, or through unauthorised fires and burning. This applies to Walleys Quarry, formerly Red Industries RM Ltd, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, both in terms of dangerous and unacceptable levels of hydrogen sulphide being pumped into my community and of the fire that took place on the evening of 4 August 2024. Sites such as Walleys and other relevant landfills are unlikely to treat the waste in compliance with environmental best practice. Those companies divert waste from legitimate businesses, reducing their potential income streams, viability and competitive advantage. The cost of ameliorating fly- tipped waste falls to public services and our constituents.

I am grateful to Keep Britain Tidy for its helpful briefing ahead of this debate—I suspect that colleagues who are here would have enjoyed that briefing, too. I acknowledge all the work that Keep Britain Tidy does to reclaim our green spaces, to clean our streets and roads and to keep our communities safe and clean.

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Adam Jogee]

I will give way to another Staffordshire friend.

[Dave Robertson]

I thank my hon. Friend for initiating such an important debate on this most pressing issue. Does he agree with me that voluntary organisations such as those in my constituency, Burntwood Litter Heroes and Lichfield Litter Legends, really deserve the support and respect of their Members for all the work they do to keep our communities tidy, alongside the work of Keep Britain Tidy?

[Adam Jogee]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I, too, pay tribute to the organisations in his constituency that do so much important work. I very much like the alliteration of Lichfield Litter Legends, so he can pass our collective best wishes on to them.

Fly-tipping is the top environmental challenge faced by many communities, not least in Staffordshire, as we have heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) and for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards)—neighbours, in fact. Despite resources going into tackling fly-tipping—education, monitoring, enforcement and removal—incidents of fly-tipping continue to increase. The education point for real people in the real world, as opposed to rich criminals in the waste crime world, is so important. This must be about pride—pride in our communities, in our homes, towns and villages—and this new Government, our Government, must lead by example and help to restore that.

In a previous life, I worked for the then shadow Minister for waste crime, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones). She often raised in debates—I know, because I wrote many of the speeches—the high levels of recycling in Wales, so what discussions has the Minister had with the Welsh Government about best practice, and what lessons can we learn from the Labour Government in Wales? I see that my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan) is here.

This issue is of particular concern to residents on The Paddocks in Cross Heath in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I am working with Councillor John Williams and Councillor Gill Williams on how we can hold the borough and county councils to account. Fly-tipping is also an issue for many residents in Bradwell. I thank one particular resident, Jane Rushton, for her tenacity and her commitment to keeping her community clean and free of fly-tips— I was at her house quite recently; she makes a very good cheese sandwich and an even better date loaf. I know that she is working with Councillor Andrew Fox-Hewitt, Councillor Lesley Richards and Councillor Annabel Lawley to do just that.

The Environmental Services Association—the trade body representing the UK’s resource and waste management industry—published back in 2021 a report entitled “Counting the cost of UK Waste Crime”, and these figures are relevant to now. It broke down the estimated financial impact of waste crime in England from 2018 to 2019 as follows: fly-tipping cost £392 million, illegal waste sites £236 million, misclassification £120 million, exemption breaches £87 million, illegal exports £42 million and waste fires £22 million. That was then and this is now. They are extraordinary sums, so can the Minister let us know what assessment has been made of the financial impact of waste crime in the last year, 2022-23? I suspect that she will have to write to me; I do not expect her to have all those figures now, but I will appreciate a written response.

Back in January 2018, the last Conservative Government published their 25-year environment plan, which set an ambition to eliminate waste crime and illegal waste sites over the lifetime of the plan, so by 2043. There is no evidence of that in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and while I urge the Minister to commit to eliminating waste crime and illegal waste sites, I urge her to give us deeds and not just words. Can she confirm that the Government will update the 25-year environment plan to make it fit for purpose?

In 2018, the Environment Agency was given new powers to tackle the problem of illegal waste sites. That included the power to lock up sites, to block access to them and to require rogue operators to clean up their actions, so I ask the Minister the following questions: how many illegal waste sites have been locked up since 2018? How many illegal waste sites have had access to them blocked? What does the requirement on rogue operators actually look like?

Turning to the disgraceful story of Walleys Quarry, I pay tribute to every local who has expressed their concern and tried to fight for the clean air and safe environment that everyone in our country and our constituencies deserves. I thank all who have campaigned to “stop the stink”. I first met Dr Scott, a GP in Silverdale, back in 2021. The situation facing local people has only got worse since then, when he made the health impacts clear, as he did last month at the public inquiry that the council held. I also acknowledge Dr Mick Salt for his tireless commitment and sheer tenacity—the theme here is that there are tenacious people aplenty in Newcastle-under-Lyme—and every local person who cares about getting the issue resolved.

I am pleased to welcome two of my constituents, Sheelagh and John, who made it down from Newcastle-under-Lyme to be in the Public Gallery for this debate. We are also joined by the deputy mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme—the shadow Minister will be pleased to know that Councillor Robert Bettley-Smith is a Conservative —and Councillor Jacqueline Brown, a good friend of mine and an excellent Labour councillor in Silverdale.

Finding a way through on Walleys cannot be party political. For too long, the previous Conservative Government refused to engage meaningfully with the Labour Opposition— I know, because I worked for the shadow Minister at the time. For too long, in the council chamber at Castle House in Newcastle-under-Lyme, good ideas tabled by Labour councillors were voted down by the Tories purely because they were Labour ideas. That is no way for us to deliver for the people who sent me here. I welcome both members of the council to this debate, and I appreciate their support for my efforts to get the blight that is Walleys closed, capped, and safely and securely restored.

That will not be easy—if it were, surely to God it would have happened already. My constituents have had enough. They want to know what actually has to happen for action to be taken. How bad do things have to get? How many people need to be stuck in their homes, unable to open their windows, sit in their gardens or breathe without inhaling toxic fumes? They want to know why Newcastle feels like a dumping ground for other people’s waste. They want to see real action from those with enforcement powers to clean their air, to hold the operators to account and finally to rid our town of the disgusting, disgraceful and toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide.

My first words in the House after taking my oath were on Walleys. I promised local people that I would hit the ground running and that I would champion their determination for clean air and healthier lungs, heads and hearts. I have tried to do exactly that.

In August, Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council held a two-day public inquiry into Walleys Quarry. I share my opening remarks with the House. These words were said on behalf of those who live, learn and work in my constituency:

“Like so many of the people who live, learn and work in Newcastle-under-Lyme, I am angry—angry that nothing has changed, angry by the failures of the Environment Agency to give local people what they need—which is action not words.

I have been the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme for almost 6 weeks”—

or had been then—

“and there isn’t a day that this disgraceful situation isn’t raised with me. I will work every day to get justice for local people and give us the chance to finally move on.

Just this morning, I was with local businesses and heard the impact and pressures they face.

Over the last week, I have heard from many local people terrified by the fire that took place on Sunday 4th August.

And I note that we still wait”—

or at least we did then—

“for the results of the fire investigation—we need to know what happened, why it happened and what lessons will be learned to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

And hours after the fire, the site was accepting waste again—that is completely and utterly unacceptable in my view. No operator who wants to be a fair and good neighbour, who had regard for the impact on residents would have accepted waste so quickly.”