The people of my Brentwood and Ongar constituency do not like litter. Or fly-tipping. Or anti-social behaviour which disturbs the pleasant amenity of their road, village or town centre. There is a particular dislike of the little silver nitrous oxide cannisters which manage to combine both littering and anti-social behaviour in one hit.
This much is clear from my inboxes, with local residents contacting me on a regular basis about the thoughtless behaviour of some members of the community who care little about the mess they leave, and less about the fear they invoke in more vulnerable members of our society.
The Prime Minister has promised to crack down on anti-social behaviour, which ruins neighbourhoods, disrupts peoples daily lives and erodes the sense of safety and community which brings people together.
Those responsible for offences such as vandalism or graffitiing will start cleaning up their crimes as quickly as possible, aiming for offenders to start work within 48 hours of receiving an order.
Fines for litter and graffiti will increase to up to £500 while the upper limit for fly-tipping will be £1000, and the Government will support councils to hand out more of these fines, with councils keeping these fines to reinvest in clean up and enforcement.
Private landlords will also be supported to make it quicker for them to evict anti-social tenants after serving notice, as well as broaden the disruptive and harmful activities that can lead to eviction. The housing rules will also be strengthened so previous anti-social behaviour perpetrators, who have made their neighbours lives a misery, are lower priority for new council housing.
I know these are tough measures, but I hope they will go some way to preventing the behaviour which leaves too many of my constituents fearful in their own homes and neighbourhoods.
