Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Kevin Bonavia and Emma Hardy(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Fly-tipping is unacceptable. It blights communities, harms the environment and imposes significant costs on taxpayers and businesses. Those responsible should be cleaning it up and paying for it. That is why we have strengthened the powers and penalties available to councils, to ensure that vandals face real consequences, and we are consulting on making them clean up their own mess.
Emma Hardy
I completely understand the frustration of my hon. Friend’s constituents at repeated fly-tipping on private roads. We are taking this seriously. We have increased the maximum fine for offenders to £5,000, and we are working on advising the owners of private land on land security through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. We are happy to give that advice to private landowners, but where we find out who is responsible, we will not hesitate in going after them.
Kevin Bonavia
Like many other MPs, I am often reporting the worst examples of fly-tipping to our local councils. My most recent case is on Marymead Drive, with boards and tarpaulin thrown under trees and walls graffitied. I expect that Stevenage borough council staff will be on to this as quickly as possible, but they should not have to do it in the first place. What assurances can the Minister give me and the House about the Government’s war on waste crime and whether it will extend to graffiti and reduce these instances of fly-tipping?
Emma Hardy
It is good to hear about a council being proactive and cleaning up some of this mess. I agree that graffiti and fly-tipping offences are unacceptable. Graffiti is a separate offence from fly-tipping, but local councils can issue fixed penalties of up to £500 for graffiti offences, and we are consulting on powers for councils to use conditional cautions, requiring offenders to clean up their mess and cover the clean-up costs, instead of simply walking away from the damage they cause.
Drought Conditions: England
Debate between Kevin Bonavia and Emma Hardy(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Emma Hardy
As a Member of Parliament for Hull, where the Siemens wind turbine factory employs lots of local people, I think wind turbines are a great idea. More seriously, in response to the hon. Gentleman’s question, adaptation is hugely important, which is why we need greater resilience in the system. We keep saying “the new normal”, but going between extremes of flood and drought is now the normal. Believe it or not, I am giving this statement on drought in Flood Action Week.
The hon. Member is right: we need to look at adaptation. That is why it is important to have conversations with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about new home standards and water efficiency. This is a cross-Government issue, not just a DEFRA issue. That is why it was great to have a Minister from the Department for Transport, MHCLG and the Cabinet Office as well as a DEFRA Minister at the flood and drought taskforce this week. Resilience is an everyone problem and an every-part-of- Government issue.
Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her serious statement setting out the gravity of the situation this country is in. It is a bit rich for the Opposition to say that the Government are not doing enough in the face of what this country is up against when they had many years to build not just one, but several reservoirs, as our Government are now talking about. Will the Minister give the House the commitment that the Government will do all they can to make these major projects happen?
Emma Hardy
I can absolutely give that commitment. It is hugely important. It is, frankly, shocking that we have not built a new reservoir in years, developed any new sources of water or looked at desalination. It is an abject failure to prepare and develop the resilience this country needs. I am absolutely determined to change that. The basics of being able to move water more easily around the country and store it when it rains are the least the public expects. It highlights again that they were terribly failed by the previous Government.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Kevin Bonavia and Emma Hardy(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the important work that the commission has been doing. I do not want to get ahead of any announcements the commission may make—it is not long to wait now, Mr Speaker; it is only a few weeks—but clearly regulation has not been working, so action is needed.