Scott Benton
Main Page: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)Department Debates - View all Scott Benton's debates with the Leader of the House
(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman and I am happy to join him in congratulating Connor and all the other winners. The hon. Gentleman will know that Democracy Week is not far away, and we shall be just as focused on local democracy during that time as we are on democracy in the House.
Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)
Residents in the Talbot and Brunswick area of Blackpool have been plagued by antisocial behaviour in recent weeks, with hundreds of different crimes being committed by a gang of teenagers. Its ringleader is an 11-year-old boy who has been responsible for more than 80 different offences, including assaulting a female police officer. Sadly the efforts of Lancashire police to bring him to justice have been compromised by Blackpool Council’s children’s directorate, which refuses to criminalise teenagers. May we have a debate on antisocial behaviour, the misery it causes to communities and whether the police have the appropriate powers to tackle the problems?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, and I am so sorry that his community are suffering from this antisocial behaviour and criminal activity. He will know that it takes a team of people to redress this situation—it is about education, it is about the local authority and it is about a good policing approach. This will be an excellent topic for a debate, and I encourage him to apply for one in the usual way.