"OUT OF TOUCH" CONSERVATIVES OPPOSED LOCAL POWERS TO TACKLE GRAFFITI, NOISE POLLUTION, VANDALISM AND DIRTY NEIGHBOURHOODS

On 6 April 2006, the new Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 came into force. It gives local authorities more powers to tackle dirty neighbourhoods including graffiti, chewing gum, dog fouling, fly tipping, noise pollution and vandalism. The Act allows your local council and the Environment Agency to transfer the cost of removal of this pollution from the council taxpayer to the "polluters".

Local authorities can now impose fixed penalty notices and fines such as imposing an £80 fine for throwing gum or cigarette butts on the ground to fines for excessive noise pollution at any time of the day. The aim of the Act is to change the behaviour of a small minority of people who make the environment, in which people live, unpleasant for the vast majority of law-abiding citizens.

All parties, except for the Conservatives, supported this new Act to clean up our neighbourhoods and to pass the cost on to "polluters". The "out of touch" Conservatives felt that existing legislation was already in place to tackle these problems effectively (Hansard Volume 429, 10 January 2005, Column 48). Most Woking residents would disagree, as there has clearly been a rising problem of litter, graffiti, noise pollution and vandalism for a number of years now.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that the cost of street cleansing by local authorities in 2002/03 was £490 million and rising each year (DEFRA Impact Assessment Report, February 2005). DEFRA also concluded that the cost of "doing nothing" would be even higher if this Act was not implemented. The cost has to be passed on to "polluters" - not the council taxpayer.

The Conservatives also proposed to cut £47 million from the Environment Agency last year. Thankfully they didn't succeed as this would have reduced the capacity of the Environment Agency to tackle polluters and clean up our environment.

Sue Smith, Liberal Democrat Group Leader said:

"The Liberal Democrats MPs supported the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill in February 2005 even though it was flawed in places. It gave local authorities more powers to deal with anti-social behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, excessive noise and fly tipping - powers we urgently needed to tackle these problems.

The Conservatives, petulantly, opposed the Bill in its entirety.

Humfrey Malins, our Conservative MP, was absent from the final vote on the bill! (Hansard Volume 431, 21 February 2005, Column 35)

Imagine if the Conservatives had their way? We would still not have had the possibility of imposing fines and notices on those who litter and vandalise our neighbourhoods. The council taxpayer would still be bearing the excessive costs of cleaning up."