Justin Madders
Main Page: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)Department Debates - View all Justin Madders's debates with the Home Office
(8 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberMembers should recognise that just because a clause might have a similar sounding name, it does not mean it is the same. The simple truth of the matter is that the Opposition clause was deficient in many ways. The clause that we will put forward in the Criminal Justice Bill will address the issue. On local policing, the hon. Lady should recognise that there has been a 6,000 uplift.
Last year, we launched the antisocial behaviour action plan, backed by £160 million-worth of funding and over 100,000 hours of police and other uniformed patrols undertaken to target antisocial behaviour hotspots, extended to every single police force in England and Wales. We banned nitrous oxide, increased fines for fly-tipping, littering and graffiti, and are strengthening powers to tackle antisocial behaviour through the Criminal Justice Bill that is making its way through the House.
One of the aspects of antisocial behaviour that really annoys my constituents is persistent cannabis smoking by people in their own homes, particularly, but not exclusively, in blocks of flats. When I raise the matter with the police, they tell me that they are not going to go into people’s homes and deal with it. I do not think that that is good enough; does the Home Secretary?
The police should take action when there is credible reporting of criminal behaviour. I have had this conversation with police leaders from areas around the country, and it is a conversation that we will continue to have with the police. People need not only to be safe but to feel safe, in their communities and in their homes.
Given that interest is about to switch in this House to a different matter, I will be brief. I promise to write to my hon. Friend on this, but she should know that this Government have already doubled spending on finding alternatives to animal testing. We will continue to make sure that the inspection regime is as strict as possible, to make sure that when animals need to be used, the conditions are as humane as possible.
All our overseas expenditure, whether it is through official development assistance or through contractual relationships, such as the ones with Rwanda, is always robustly policed to ensure that it is spent exclusively on the issues that it is designed to address. We have a strong, good working relationship with the Government of Rwanda, who are absolutely committed to being the exporter of solutions to global problems, rather than the exporter of problems.