Oral Answers to Questions

Janet Daby Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I will do both those things, and I thank the hon. Lady for raising her own experience here to highlight the issue. The thoughts of the whole House will be with the family and friends of the young person who died. I thank all the public health specialists working in Reading to ensure that those affected are receiving appropriate treatment. The hon. Lady’s question reminds us that vaccines do save lives, and we must do everything we can in relation to that.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Q12.  Littering and fly-tipping are a blight on our communities. This is not just an issue for Lewisham, but an issue for towns and cities across our country and, indeed, in rural areas. No one wants to see a dirty mattress, or cans or bottles, left beside roads or against gates. It is awful. I welcome the Government’s strategy and the plans to give councils more powers to manage fly-tipping, but I strongly believe that more needs to be done. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time for a national conversation about how we manage and deal with littering?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, because the Government are cracking down on disgraceful waste criminals through, for instance, tougher penalties for fly-tippers—including service in clean-up squads, and the potential loss of their driving licences—more powers and funding for the Environment Agency, and stronger checks across the industry to tackle fly-tipping at its source.