Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Polly Billington and Mary Creagh

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new seat and congratulate him on winning the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Massingham advocacy award. The Department remains vigilant to potential global disease threats and has robust measures in place to prevent and detect disease incursion. We will be looking at funding as part of the spending review, but I pay tribute to those officials and veterinary officers who are working so hard to tackle the outbreaks that the hon. Gentleman mentioned.

[Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)]

T7. Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate are bywords for the English seaside holiday, but Thanet district council has to deal with the appalling levels of littering and fly-tipping that come with the popularity of our beautiful beaches. At the end of a hot, sunny day, 5,000 people will have descended on Margate main sands, leaving them far from beautiful. The rubbish is an environmental and health hazard. Of course, the challenge is a seasonal one. What plans do the Government have to support coastal communities in tackling this blight?

[Mary Creagh]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. We need to educate the public and ourselves that there is no such place as “away” and that when we bring our children and our picnics to the beach, we should consume the food and leave only footprints in the sand. I am convening a circular economy taskforce, and we will look at seasonal needs as part of that.