Antisocial Behaviour: Hertfordshire

Debate between Phil Brickell and David Taylor

Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[David Taylor]

I am doing everything I can to work with the Labour Mayor, but he is subject to the same national cuts in police numbers that we have seen elsewhere. We all have problems with police resources.

As a candidate and again since my election to Parliament, I have been out with bobbies on the beat to see the issues that they face at first hand, as part of the Hertfordshire police ride-along scheme. After seeing them in action, I commend our police. I do not exaggerate when I say that they are heroes and heroines in our community. Thanks to the local police in Hertfordshire, we have seen some progress in tackling the plight of antisocial behaviour. I thank them again for their service. Operation Clear Hold Build in Grovehill and Operation Hotspot in the town centre have brought significant uplifts in patrols and prevention in both areas. PC Beresford and Sergeant Divney from the neighbourhood team have led the charge against antisocial behaviour from the front. They and their colleagues are an asset to their force.

I also pay tribute to Hemel’s Chief Inspector Dave Skarratts. He has been exemplary in his role, and today happens to be his last day. I wish him well in his new role with Bedfordshire police. When tackling antisocial behaviour, the police are key, but they need tools and the resources to do their jobs. While many of us flee from an incident, they rush towards it; I ensure, in my conversations with the Police Federation, that they do so safe in the knowledge that they have the support they need and deserve.

I have carried out an audit of the 55 cases that residents have reported to me so far. I have analysed them for themes, and one keeps emerging. Police are just one part of the jigsaw when it comes to tackling antisocial behaviour. There is a role to be played by local authorities and housing associations. In many instances, upstanding residents have gathered the information and evidence thoroughly, at their own risk and expense, and submitted it to the council or their housing association. However, in some cases they have seen no action.

In some instances, the council has refused to re-add them to the housing list because they are adequately housed, yet it has not acted against the troublemakers nearby. In others, communication between police and council teams has been not consistent enough or, in some cases, completely absent. I have had reports of housing associations simply not replying to their residents. All Members of this House have a responsibility to do their bit to tackle this issue.

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is incumbent not just on us as Members of Parliament but on all constituents to work together to ensure that our young people growing up have positive role models around them in a community setting, so that they do not fall into a life of antisocial behaviour and they can see a way to get on in life?

[David Taylor]

I thank my hon. Friend for his point. I myself benefited from Hertfordshire youth services as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament, which is sadly something that has had to be pulled back by Hertfordshire county council because of cuts to youth services. That is just one example of the ways young people can be offered a chance to build their confidence and skills, and is partly why I am able to speak to hon. Members today.

MPs have a duty to their constituents, the police and the many hard-working council officers who deal with antisocial behaviour, which is why I have made it a key priority. This week, I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Policing, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson), where I raised Hosking Court, Livingstone Walk, Swallowfields and other hotspots across our area. I have also pushed for Hemel Hempstead to be considered as part of the pilot for the new respect order, which will give police new powers to crack down on yobs and thugs with zero tolerance and with 100% focus on victims.

I have been out with police for ride alongs, the purpose of which is to see at first hand what our officers are seeing and understand further the tools they need to do their job. I have had regular meetings with the chief inspector to understand the whole picture and raise residents’ concerns. I have also met the Police Federation reps, who are best placed to tell me about the strategic issues faced by officers. I will continue to do all that and more to support those on the frontline facing antisocial behaviour.

I have spoken today of the harrowing accounts of some of my constituents. I have set out why we are in this mess—because of 14 years of dereliction of duty by the previous Conservative Administration. Now, I want to talk about the way in which Labour is working to fix the problems we have inherited.

I very much welcome the new respect orders, which will give police and local councils the powers they need to ban persistent offenders, and I hope my patch will be picked to join the scheme when it is launched. I also welcome the action on boy racers, with Labour giving police stronger powers to seize vehicles involved in antisocial behaviour. The forthcoming policing and crime Bill, which will partially replace existing civil injunction powers for adults, will hit nuisance off-road bikes hard—another issue affecting my residents. I am particularly pleased to see enhanced powers to complement the Government’s commitment to restore neighbourhood policing in England and Wales.

For too long, people in Hemel have been let down. The new Government are showing leadership and, as the new MP for Hemel Hempstead, I pledge today to do all I can to ensure that these national changes are felt locally.

Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill

Debate between Phil Brickell and David Taylor

Committee of the whole House
Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I wholeheartedly welcome this Bill, which allows us, alongside our G7 partners, to provide £38.6 billion of loans to Ukraine to be repaid using profits from sanctioned Russian assets, and I wholly support this Government’s commitment to stand unequivocally with Ukraine. I believe that Putin and his cronies should be the ones who pay for the damage they have caused across Ukraine. To that end, while this is a very welcome first step, does the Minister agree that we should be doing all we can within the rule of law to seize frozen Russian assets, both private and state, and use them to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine?

Moreover, may I gently suggest to the Minister that we must secure a swift resolution on the proceeds of the sale of Chelsea football club? In March 2022, Roman Abramovich pledged to sell Chelsea football club and donate the £2.5 billion—nearly seven times the value of the humanitarian assistance that the UK has pledged since the invasion in 2022—to support victims of the war in Ukraine. However, as I think all Members know, two years on from the sale, this has hit a stalemate, and regrettably no money has been delivered to the victims of the conflict.

With that in mind, the Government should commit to a number of recommendations that the campaign group Redress has worked on, and all of which I support. The first recommendation is taking steps to ensure that the proceeds of the sale of Chelsea football club are swiftly transferred to a charitable foundation in the UK, or adopting other existing mechanisms set up to deliver reparations to victims of the conflict. The second is ensuring that a substantial percentage of the funds is used for reparations for victims of the conflict, particularly victims of gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian, such as survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The third recommendation is to engage Ukrainian civil society, victims and survivors in guiding the repurposing of those funds. The fourth and final recommendation is to establish a working group between the Government, civil society and survivors to ensure that funds are distributed in an effective and timely manner.

I very much welcome the substantial progress that the Government have made in the past few months in standing shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people, including the recent announcement of a new anti-corruption champion, the further designation of vessels in the Russian shadow fleet and increasing collaboration across Government to tackle Putin’s war economy, bearing down on both the Kremlin and the wider network of cronies who enable his unlawful and persistent invasion of Ukraine. As my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) said, the Bill is an important step, and I welcome further initiatives to support the Ukrainian people as they continue their struggle to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Putin’s unlawful invasion.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell). He has demonstrated why he will be such a valuable addition to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I congratulate him on his election to it. I associate myself with his comments and those of other Members. We often find ourselves disagreeing over the smallest of details, so I am proud that we can all come together on an issue of such magnitude in unity with the people of Ukraine. Long may that cross-party support continue.

Earlier this year, as some Members may know, I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine. I went over with an Estonian charity, driving a couple of military pick-up trucks over from the UK as part of a much larger convoy that went into Kyiv. Those vehicles were handed over to the Ukrainian soldiers, and it brought home that there was not only support and solidarity in this country for Ukraine, but solidarity across the whole of Europe. That is why we are coming together on the measures in this Bill. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to go again, and I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel). We were both on a call earlier, and I know that he and other Members have also made trips to Ukraine and been part of aid convoys to help people, and long may that continue.

This Bill is another tool in the arsenal when it comes to fighting one of the world’s greatest tyrants. Ukraine’s fight against Russian tyranny is not just for Ukraine’s sovereignty, but for the freedom and security of the whole of Europe. One striking thing in making that journey is realising just how flat Europe is. I know that seems a silly point, but it brings home that there is nothing stopping Putin at the borders of Ukraine if we do not stand up against him now. The fact that another of the world’s tyrants, Assad, is now cowering in Moscow demonstrates the importance of curtailing Russia’s aggression.

I am proud that this Government and the Government before have stood foursquare behind Ukraine. As other Members have said, the Bill will land a deafening blow on Putin’s war machine and unlock a £2.26 billion contribution from the UK to the extraordinary revenue acceleration scheme, which crucially will not be paid by Ukraine or by British taxpayers. It comes from dodgy cash from profits owned by sanctioned Russian assets held in the EU.

I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton), who listed the various ways in which the previous Government and the current Government have supported Ukraine. Long may that continue. It is so important that we continue to stand four-square behind Ukraine for as long as it takes. I urge the Committee to do all in our power to ensure that the Bill receives Royal Assent as urgently as is feasible, especially as we approach winter, when the battle conditions will become even tougher. Finally, I use this opportunity to pay tribute to the Ukrainian forces fighting on the frontline, the British troops involved in training and equipping them and all those showing resilience in the face of Putin’s illegal war.