Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)]

We are determined to drive up standards across the private parking sector, and my colleagues in the Department for Transport are across the other elements of the parking sector. We will announce our plans regarding the private parking code of practice in due course, and I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue further.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

T5. With rats as big as cats, over 17,000 tonnes of rubbish piled up in the streets of Birmingham, and stories of rubbish being set alight in some streets, the bin strike is a problem that needs to be sorted out by Labour-run Birmingham city council and this Government. Can the Minister reassure me that neighbouring authorities, such as Walsall borough council, will be reimbursed for any additional costs that we incur as a result of the strike?

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

All of us understand how difficult things are in Birmingham, and it is the Government’s job to support Birmingham to recover and get services back to normal. There are three strands: regularising the negotiations with the trade unions to find a long-term solution, dealing with routine collections and getting more trucks out of the depot, and dealing with the clean-up of waste that has accumulated on the streets. We are supporting the council in doing that. On the question of mutual aid, any mutual aid that is provided by local authorities will be reimbursed.