Parliamentary debate on anti-social behaviour in Dudley
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00:00Order. I will call Sonia, Cue Ma'am, to move the motion and I will then call the Minister
00:18to respond. I remind other members that they may only make a very short speech with prior
00:25permission from the member in charge of the debate and the Minister. There will not be
00:29an opportunity for the member in charge to wind up as this is a convention for a 30-minute
00:34debate. Thank you. Sonia Cue Ma'am to move the motion.
00:41I beg to move that this House has declared anti-social behaviour in Dudley. It's a pleasure to serve
00:46under your chairmanship today and I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring forward the important
00:51debate on anti-social behaviour in Dudley, an issue that strikes at every heart of the community
00:56across the UK. In Dudley, residents are increasingly concerned about banditism, intimidation, dangerous
01:03driving of off-road bikes, groups engaging in persistent disorder, theft, drug dealing and
01:09my pet takes flight tipping. Anti-social behaviour erodes community confidence and makes people
01:14feel unsafe. This behaviour not only undermines trust among neighbours, it also hinders our local
01:20businesses and tarnishes reputations of our towns as vibrant, welcoming places to work
01:26and live. The impact on our high streets and businesses are significant. Some estimates show
01:32that the cost of the businesses and individuals in response to the heightened fear of crime would
01:37be excess of £70 billion a year. This simply is unacceptable. We must be better to reduce the cost
01:44and consequences of anti-social behaviour. And the question I would ask is why do we have
01:49anti-social behaviour? We know that anti-social behaviour is complex which includes social,
01:55psychological and economic factors. Poverty and deprivation are consistently identified as primary
02:03root causes. High levels of mental health including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress can
02:09contribute to anti-social behaviour especially among teenagers. This area isn't just for the
02:15Minister here today but something we should be tackling across departmentally. If people in my
02:21constituency felt they had a genuine say in their community and equal opportunities, jobs, housing and a
02:26better quality of life providing opportunities, they may feel differently.
02:32I thank my Honourable Friend for giving way. I recently spoke to one of my constituents from
02:43Hell's Owen who was facing problems with anti-social behaviour. She had somebody smoking cannabis outside
02:51her property frequently. And while she reported it to Dudley Council and to the police, there was little
02:56that was done. In fact, it was only after my office became involved that something happened. Does my Honourable
03:01Friend agree with me that whilst this might seem a minor incident to the authorities, this is really
03:07important for our constituents and it's absolutely imperative that they strive to tackle this anti-social behaviour?
03:12No, I agree with my Honourable Friend. I think even the smoking of cannabis and drug dealing across the
03:21constituency, so many people have said to me that it's causing people for not wanting to come out.
03:26They're really worried and concerned about their children and also it's just the fact that it's just
03:31wrong and we need to have better rehabilitation services. So I think it's a question that we should be
03:36reflecting upon is why do people have such high levels of anti-social behaviour? And I'd like to highlight a
03:41crucial role of prevention in tackling this. Effective prevention is not just responding
03:48incidents after they occur, but addressing the root causes of stopping them before they start,
03:52and I'm more than happy to give way. Can I commend the Honourable Friend for Dudley
03:56for bringing this forward? And the anti-social behaviour issues that the Honourable Friend is referring to,
04:01I think we all have them in our constituency. Does the Honourable Friend not agree that the prevalence of
04:06anti-social behaviour throughout this United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland suggest that we do
04:10need to do more to engage with the youth? I think that's the thrust of, I believe, the Honourable
04:15Lady's ideas and give them a stake in the community. And with the Honourable Lady not further agreed.
04:21And I can sit in a strength with church organisations such as the Boys Brigade, the Girls Brigade,
04:26the Campaigners and other church youth groups, and they've been able to give roots to greater
04:31support to ensure that more young people are taught skills and thereby social cohesion. Churches have
04:37a role. Let them play their role, and we can all benefit.
04:41I agree with my Honourable Friend. I think engagement in all aspects of the community,
04:46whether the church, whether the Godwara, whether it's a mosque, whether it's the synagogue, it doesn't
04:51matter what community forum that takes. If youth are engaged in that, then I think we should be
04:55pursuing those routes to get them more active in the society. And that could just also be the youth
05:01centre. So that comes to my point, which actually early engagement with young people in schools
05:06to address adverse behaviour before it escalates is actually paramount. Regular high visible foot
05:12and vehicle patrols on hot spots to deter offenders should be at the point that we should be looking at
05:18in particular. Close collaboration with local businesses and residents to identify persistent offenders
05:23and intervene early is essential. And building, of course, community cohesion. Providing job
05:29opportunities and rehabilitation for those people that have committed antisocial behaviour. And
05:34often, too often, the lack of outlets for youth to enjoy safe places to entertain and to actually be
05:43participating in activities such as sports lacks. So without sports centres, youth centres, activity centres,
05:49young people are left with limited options which can lead to antisocial behaviour.
05:53This is why I'm fighting to bring back Dudley Town Football Club to Dudley and why community
05:59assets such as Sedgley Library must be saved. Assets like these are essential for our community and
06:04it's also why I oppose the closure of Meadow Road Youth Centre in my constituency. And I'm also hugely
06:11grateful for the Mayor of West Midlands, Richard Parker, for securing West Midlands as a place for a youth
06:16guarantee trailblazer focusing on supporting young people who are not in education, employment or training.
06:23This programme is not just for a part of the solution but will be a long term to reduce the
06:27antisocial behaviour. This is why I'm fighting for it to be in Dudley. Ms. Furness, we have other issues of
06:35why antisocial crime has proliferated in Dudley. Like much of the West Midlands, it's seen crime increase
06:40dramatically over the past decade. We've witnessed 76% increase in crime locally while the West
06:47Midlands as a whole has seen an increase of 79%. This is deeply worrying trend.
06:53Chronic underfunding and a significant cut to police numbers over the last 14 years have hampered our
06:59police forces with fewer 700 deployed police officers in the West Midlands compared to 2010. Yet despite these
07:07challenges, our police officers continue to do a fantastic job. And I want to take this moment
07:12to thank them for their unwavering commitment to keeping us safe, even under the most challenging
07:18circumstances. And I firmly believe that they're supporting our local police, we can turn these
07:23troubling statistics around. Well, Mayor, I will give away. I will give away. I thank my honourable friend
07:29and neighbour who's delivering an excellent speech. Does she welcome the fact that there are 150 extra
07:35neighbourhood police coming to the West Midlands as part of Labour Party's 13,000 extra neighbourhood
07:41police commitments? And won't that help us tackle the antisocial behaviour we're seeing across Dudley?
07:47Thank you. This is why I welcome the announcement of 200 million for neighbourhood policing as part of
07:53the wider billion pound boost. This investment will reassure communities as they once again see local
07:58police officers patrolling our streets. I recognise that this is important by supporting our local police
08:04forces, it will turn around this worrying trend of crime statistics. Locally, I was delighted to see
08:09our Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, secure an extra 150 neighbourhood police officers for
08:15the West Midlands, alongside a further 139 officers redeployed into neighbouring policing. Neighbour policing
08:23must be at the heart of our approach. The actions taken by the PCC are exactly what we need to ensure
08:29policing once again serves our community. This is part of the PCC's new Police and Crime Plan,
08:35which I wholeheartedly support. But Ms. Furness, we can and must go further. We in this house must
08:41demonstrate that we can take our concerns of our constituents seriously and when it comes to
08:46anti-social behaviour and tackling crime in the 21st century. This is why I was delighted to support
08:51the Crime and Police Bill in the second reading earlier this year. The bill introduces respect orders which
08:57will allow police and local authorities to target persistent offenders with tougher restrictions.
09:03It extends closure powers to help shut down premises which are a magnet for crime and disorder and
09:09increases the penalties for repeat offenders. Ensuring those responsible for making people's lives
09:15a misery are held to account. Crucially, the bill ensures that victims' voices are at the heart and are heard.
09:22When supporting instances and victims can feel confident that authorities will act and take their voices
09:32seriously and introduce reviews of anti-social behaviours and complaints to the highest degree. This is
09:38important particularly for housing estates and high streets in Dunlea where persistent disorders can drive
09:43businesses away and disrupt families trying to go their day-to-day lives. The bill also supports local
09:49authorities to search and seize vehicles linked to fly tipping. Ms Furness, anti-social behaviour in Dudley
09:55is an issue which I receive emails about every single day. One such case was struck to me on Oak Street
10:02where a resident wrote to me about drug dealing, vandalism and threatening behaviour by gangs who frequently
10:07are near Silver Jubilee Park. Residents became so worried they remained in their homes, frightened to go out
10:14to complain for fear of retaliation. Sadly, when this was raised to the council, they refused to reinstall
10:20temporary CCTV and were incredibly frustrating. This is incredibly frustrating and disappointing too.
10:26And I hope my conservative council is listening to this and will change their decision.
10:31Regressively, this is not an isolated issue. Upper Gorno, there are repeat instances of joyriding motorbikes late at night in the green,
10:39disrupting local residents and making roads too dangerous to use in the case of any accidents.
10:45Fly tipping is also a constant issue for my constituents with Kate's Hill in Dudley singling out to me
10:54many problems around the area and including to residents and I'm happy to give way.
11:01Thank you and I thank my honourable friend for giving way and for bringing forward this important
11:06debate that affects not just Dudley but also the whole Dudley Borough which covers my honourable friend
11:11for Hell's Owen North and myself in Stowbridge and fly tipping is absolutely prolific in the lie ward of
11:16my constituency and the council are really struggling to enforce on much of it as because a lot of it is
11:23associated with organised crime. So does she agree with me that we need to support and resource councils
11:29to enforce on this anti-social environmental crime in collaboration with stakeholders?
11:36I agree with my honourable friend and neighbour of course and I think we need to make sure that
11:41the local council is engaging with residents, with community forums and with the local police and we
11:47have more police on our streets. Now car theft is again another issue. Car theft and burglary in my area in
11:54particular is too often been told to me by email. People have been sending me emails, sending me
12:01messages by Facebook that time and time again this isn't been reviewed and constituents are frightened
12:07and it adds unnecessary stress for the local residents and I could go on and I could have all the issues
12:14that have been come to me and my to my residents via email and via social media. Whether it's racial slurs,
12:23whether it's been shouted, public urination, vandalism of public gardens, drug dealing and roads covered
12:29by litter. This is entirely unacceptable and the behaviour is a blight of the communities in Dudley.
12:35It causes terror particularly for the elderly, vulnerable residents, causes damage to our communities,
12:39undermines place of pride and breeds a culture and perception of lawlessness which ultimately needs
12:45to only one way. I'm grateful for the work the government has already done and plan
12:49to increase police numbers and tackle antisocial behaviour but my my concern however is often the
12:55announcements of resources being allocated to the West Midlands that Dudley does not get its fair share.
13:01So can the Minister reassure me that any extra police officers and resources for youth centres,
13:05support for young people which are directed to the West Midlands are fairly shared with towns like
13:09Dudley. We can reassure residents that only not just our big cities that get the funding but also
13:17our towns and they don't miss out. Can the Minister also reassure me that the Dudley will have an
13:22opportunity to be the home of the youth trailblazer? And in conclusion, antisocial behaviour is multifaceted
13:29and it demands a comprehensive response. We must insist in prevention, support our police, ensure fair
13:35distributional resources and give our young people hope and opportunities. Only that can restore pride,
13:42safety and confidence in Dudley's communities. The question is that this house is considered
13:49antisocial behaviour in Dudley. The Minister to respond. Thank you very much Miss Furness, it is a pleasure to
13:59serve with you in the chair. I always say that but it is actually a pleasure. So let me start by thanking
14:06all the members who have come here today and contributed. I'm especially grateful to my honourable
14:12friend, the member for Dudley, for securing the debate. As a fellow Midlands MP I am delighted.
14:19Her constituents have someone fighting so diligently on her behalf. I, just because I have a bit of time,
14:25have a good Dudley related antisocial behaviour story from my childhood. It was actually in the 70s
14:32before I was born. My mum and dad lived in the Black Country at the time and my young, well he's my
14:41older brother but the younger of my two older brothers bit my elder brother and my mum said if he was going
14:48to behave like an animal then he had to go with them and drove him to Dudley Zoo and left him there.
14:55Because it was the 70s Miss Furness. Things were different in the 70s. He's fine, just to be clear.
15:06But you know, I like her, my mother's direct action with antisocial behaviour,
15:11doling out some immediate action to try and prevent it. I don't think he ever bit my brother again.
15:22My honourable friend and others have powerfully set out that antisocial behaviour remains a constant
15:29menace in communities around the country. Whether in Dudley or anywhere else, it really has a damaging
15:36effect on people and places. And that is why we are trying to take a strong push to tackle it. And I know
15:45this is an area of real focus for my colleague, the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention.
15:52My honourable friend, the member for Dudley, mentioned her support of some of the efforts in the Crime and
15:59Policing Bill, where the Policing Minister currently will be on her feet, which is why, not just
16:06because this is a Midlands-based thing, this chamber has me today and not her. Antisocial behaviour has a
16:15strong local dimension. And that has come through from various contributions of the member for Dudley
16:23and also those in her neighbouring areas. It manifests itself in different ways, depending, and I will come
16:30on to some of the specific points that have been raised shortly. But before I do, I want to put this in a
16:35national context because it is such a widespread problem. And we heard, as we so often do,
16:44from the honourable member no longer in his place, how this is a problem in Northern Ireland, as it is
16:48in Wales, as it is in the West Midlands, as it is everywhere. As all of us know from our interactions
16:54with constituents, antisocial behaviour causes distress, concern, and fear among residents,
17:00communities and businesses. It plagues town centres and neighbourhoods. It spoils people's enjoyments
17:07of parks and other spaces. And let's get it right. Antisocial behaviour is not low level, trivial or minor.
17:17To minimise it in that way is an insult to the many people who suffer every day as a result of the selfish
17:23actions of others. As a constituency member of parliament, I'm not sure there is anything
17:28that is brought to me as much as antisocial behaviour, whether that's from a neighbour.
17:33I especially like it when both neighbours come to you. It's a tricky one to deal with at times.
17:41But whether it's from a neighbour, whether it's from people in the local community, this genuinely,
17:47it makes people have to move out of their family homes. It's not low level. This is incredibly
17:54serious. Antisocial behaviour eats away at the sense of security and local pride, and it needs to be dealt
18:00with as the serious threat that it is. For too long, the response has been weak and ineffective,
18:06and this government is putting that right. The Prime Minister has placed safer streets at the heart of his
18:12plan for change, and through that mission, we are determined to address the scourge of antisocial
18:18behaviour. We are backing up our words with action, including by restoring and strengthening neighbourhood
18:23policing, which has been badly eroded in recent years, and introducing the respect orders, as mentioned
18:30by the member for Dudley. The member for Hales Owen mentioned cannabis, and I too, and I'm sure
18:40everybody in this chamber has had the same complaints about kids smoking cannabis, or not even just kids
18:47actually, people smoking cannabis constantly outside their house, and that is why tackling illegal drugs
18:52is key to delivering the government's mission to make our streets safer, to halve knife crime, to crack
18:58down on antisocial behaviour, and to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.
19:05We know from the crime survey of England and Wales that people using or dealing drugs is among the top
19:11three antisocial behaviour issues that people most commonly think is a problem in their area. I mean,
19:17I have literally been out on streets, door knocking in streets, not too far away from Dudley, and there are
19:23just people doing open drug deals in front of you. There doesn't seem, it has seemed for quite some time,
19:30that there doesn't seem to feel like there is any deterrent, and that has to change. Half
19:37of crimes such as shoplifting and burglary are driven by drugs, and that is why this government
19:41is determined to crack down on ASB and drug misuse. The police have a critical role to play in cracking
19:48down on drug misuse and antisocial behaviour, and where individuals are found in possession of drugs,
19:54they must face appropriate sanctions. We are working with the police and the MPCC to support
19:59the increase and increase voluntary referrals into treatment. We firmly believe that diverting
20:05those who use illegal drugs into interventions such as drug treatment services is the key to reducing
20:13drug misuse and drug-related crimes and re-offending. We support the use of drug testing on arrest and
20:19out-of-court resolutions to ensure that individuals who commit drug-related and drug-related offences
20:25are given the opportunity to change their behaviour by diverting them to meaningful and appropriate
20:31interventions. The whole tone of the member for Dudley's speech was not to try and demonise
20:40some of those who might perpetrate this, but to recognise that this is a societal problem that's
20:45going to take a multi-faceted approach. Through the Crime and Policing Bill we are taking forward
20:51proposals to expand both the trigger offences that can lead to a drugs test and a range of drug
20:58and the range of drugs that can be tested for literally on the committee as it was being discussed
21:02this morning. Beyond enforcement we know treatment works to reduce re-offending. Giving offenders greater
21:08access to treatment services helps break the underlying cause of their re-offending and increases public
21:14safely. We are committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug problem can access the help and support
21:19they need and we recognise the need for evidence-based high quality treatment. Prevention of drug and
21:25alcohol-related harm is vital to saving lives and making our streets safer. As the member for Dudley
21:31said this won't just be done by the Home Office, it has to be cross-government and the Department for Health
21:37Health and Social Care is continuing to invest in improvements to local treatment services for children
21:43and young people and adults with drug or alcohol problems to ensure those in need can access high
21:48quality help and support. The member for Dudley also mentioned hot spot policing and the need for hot spot
21:57policing. So preventing crime and antisocial behaviour, if we make them a top priority we have to put our money
22:04where our mouth is and that was why I was very impressed to hear about the great work being done
22:10through the hot spot action funding such as deploying police and other uniform presence to target areas
22:17with the hottest crimes clamping down on antisocial behaviour and serious violence. As part of the
22:22government's plan to change for change and to support making the country streets safer, in 2025-26,
22:2966.3 million has been made available for hot spot policing action and the West Midlands Police have
22:36been allocated a total of £3.7 million of this funding. This will ensure an enhanced uniform presence
22:43in the town centres and neighbourhoods across the country and that have the densest concentrations of
22:51knife crime and ASB. Also as Biz mentioned a number of times today was the issue of young people. I actually
23:00used to do some youth work myself in Upper Gornal and I've got really really good at table tennis
23:09whilst doing youth work. We understand that no single, I've lost the skills now I'm afraid to say,
23:17we understand that no single agency holds all the levers to tackle antisocial behaviour and effective
23:23multi-agency working is crucial. We are committed to intervening earlier to stop young people being
23:28drawn into crime. An essential part of achieving this will be through the Youth Futures programme.
23:34We will establish a network of young futures hubs and young futures prevention partnerships across England and
23:41Wales to intervene earlier and to ensure children and young people are offered support in a more
23:47systematic way as well as creating more opportunities for young people in their communities through the
23:53provision of open access to mental health and careers support. The member for Dudley mentioned
24:00Trailblazers scheme and I too hope that that will be in Dudley and that the West Midlands will be able to
24:08exhaust all of the support that we can. I can't make her any promises about Sedgley Library from this
24:16particular dispatch box but I'm with her in her campaign to maintain Sedgley Library. The member also
24:25talked about respect to orders and recognised that the powers in the Antisocial Behaviour and Crime and Policing
24:33Act of 2014 do not currently go far enough and so we are putting that right introducing the respect
24:40orders in the Crime and Policing Bill to help ensure our communities are free from harm. Under the new
24:47measures persistent adult perpetrators of antisocial behaviour will face tough restrictions including bans
24:53on entering the areas they have been behaving antisocially in such as town centres or other public places.
25:01to the questions that the the honourable member asked me towards the end I feel that expecting the
25:09policing minister and not me being and not it not me me uh responding to this I suspect that she may
25:18have been more explicit in stating that Birmingham gets all of the money in the West Midlands and make it
25:25and make it uh I hear from a sedentary position uh that that that feels true to other people uh and I
25:33appreciate her uh her diligent diplomacy uh in that I am the minister and it's funny because I spend a lot
25:40of my time in my day job bashing London for getting all the money so it's nice to get some just desserts uh
25:46a feeling as if uh when you are a town uh next to uh a large uh city it I can very much imagine that it
25:58feels like the metrics that get used to ensure that funding is given out fairly when you have a behemoth
26:06like Birmingham next door to you I can imagine that it can feel a bit like Birmingham gets the money
26:12um I I I I think that whilst uh in the home office I will always use my voice to find uh stand up for
26:21extra resources for the whole of the West Midlands uh police force area I think it is safe to say that
26:27the home secretary uh a member of parliament in towns that surround big cities uh is only too aware of the
26:37plight of towns uh and I absolutely hear the calls from uh the member for Dudley although obviously I
26:46also think Birmingham should get some money for his for services uh I'm not suggesting we should get get
26:54rid of all of our resources to give them to Dudley but I'm happy to share uh I will wrap up by again
27:01thanking everyone who has contributed to this debate it has been yet another reminder of the strength of
27:06feeling around this issue and the harm that anti-social behavior causes in communities across
27:11the country it has been a pleasure for me to be amongst those who sound like me which is uh not
27:19often an experience I get and so it has been a pleasure to take part in this holy West Midlands uh
27:25related debate whether in Dudley or anywhere else decent law-abiding people rightly want this problem
27:31gripped this government agrees with them and we are determined to deliver the safer streets that they
27:37want and deserve the question is that this house has considered anti-social behavior in Dudley as many as
27:44are of that opinion say aye on the contrary no I think the ayes have it order order