I set up APPG on Waste Crime as people in Fleetwood know how devastating failures in the waste sector can be

Last week I chaired the first meeting of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Waste Crime, which I set up because people in Fleetwood know better than most just how devastating failures in the waste sector can be.

For years, residents have had to live with the impact of problems at the Jameson Road landfill site. People have told me about the effect on their homes, their businesses and their quality of life. Families have been forced to keep windows shut, children have been kept indoors and people have understandably asked how something so damaging can be allowed to continue for so long.

That is exactly why I wanted to make sure Fleetwood’s experience is heard properly in Parliament.

This APPG will deal with serious waste crime, landfill sites and major waste disposal operations, and whether the laws, enforcement powers and regulatory system we currently have are strong enough to protect communities.

Too often, people living next to these sites feel ignored while decisions are taken elsewhere. I do not think that is acceptable.

Through the APPG, I want to push for stronger legislation, better enforcement and proper resources for regulators, while making sure that people living with the consequences have a direct voice in Westminster.

I am chairing the group alongside vice-chairs Julie Minns MP and Tim Farron MP, with support from Keep Britain Tidy. Cat Smith MP has also given the group her continued support.

Fleetwood deserves a system that acts quickly when things go wrong and protects residents before problems are allowed to become a crisis. I will keep fighting for exactly that.

I also spoke in Parliament last week about the continuing failures affecting Civil Service pensions since Capita took over administration of the scheme.

I have heard from far too many people who have been left stressed, out of pocket or uncertain about money they have worked their whole lives to earn. That is why I have consistently argued that Capita must be held accountable and that services like this should be brought back into public hands where that can be done safely.

I was pleased that the Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to insourcing and made clear that Capita, not taxpayers, should pay for its mistakes.

When systems fail ordinary people, those responsible must be held to account and the public must be properly protected.