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PETITION
Hunting with Dogs
10.26 pm
Ms Julia Drown (South Swindon): I am pleased to have this opportunity to present a petition of 258 signatures collected in one day in South Swindon. I agree with the petitioners that the hunting of wild mammals with dogs
- "is cruel and unnecessary and has no place in a modern Britain."
- The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons calls on the Government to act on the overwhelming mandate it has received from MPs and the public to end hunting by making a clear commitment by the year 2000 to legislate for its abolition. And the petitioners remain etc.
Rural Crime and Vandalism
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.--[Mr. Hanson.]
10.27 pm
Mr. John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan): I welcome this opportunity to bring to the House's attention the serious problem of crime and vandalism in rural towns and communities in my constituency. I was not surprised to discover that rural crime and vandalism was a far more widespread problem than I had first imagined. Since the subject of this Adjournment debate appeared on the Order Paper, I have received a number of representations from organisations and individuals throughout the country who share my concerns about vandalism in rural towns in England and Wales.
I have received representations from the British Retail Consortium, for example, about crime in shops in rural areas, from crime prevention groups, from individuals and from hon. Members on both sides of the House, who have expressed their deep concern. It was interesting to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) describe almost the same problems in his constituency that we are experiencing in my constituency. Large gangs of teenagers are committing wanton and reckless vandalism and damage for no apparent reason in our rural town centres.
The problem came to my notice a couple of months ago when Mr. Colin Webster came to my constituency surgery. I sat in disbelief as he described to me the catalogue of destruction and damage to his property in the past few years. His shop window has not just been smashed on the odd occasion, cracked or had something bump into it, but has systematically been broken, week in and week out for months and years. The poor man has had to pay in excess of £104,000. It is a small hardware shop in a rural part of my constituency, and in a rural area such shops are an essential facility. Often, it is hard to keep retail outlets going in rural areas. Mr. Webster has had to pay an enormous amount to replace the glass broken as a result of teenagers congregating on Friday and Saturday nights.
I listened to him in disbelief, not only because of the extent of the damage, but because it occurred in one of the most attractive rural towns in my constituency--Llantwit Major. It did not take place, for example, in an urban area of high social deprivation, where, it is sad to admit, one might reasonably expect to find that sort of vandalism and where one would think that it would be more common. However, that is not the case at all; the vandalism occurs in a rather prosperous and attractive town in the heart of my constituency. Indeed, it is a very attractive town; it has some of the highest land values in Wales. To the south of the town lies the beautiful, heritage coast of the Vale of Glamorgan; to the west is St. Donat's castle, which was at one time the home of William Randolph Hearst and is now the Atlantic college--the international college; to the north are the rolling hills for which the Vale of Glamorgan is famous; and to the east is RAF St. Athan.
The area is an ideal place in which to live and to settle down, but unfortunately it is being blighted by the mindless actions of gangs of teenagers. I was shocked to discover the extent of that vandalism; it is not confined
to only one town. As I discovered, it occurs much more commonly throughout the country than I had first realised, so I am sure that many people can relate to the problem. The teenagers who commit that vandalism come from respectable families in a middle-class area. I believe that is a relatively modern phenomenon. In the 1980s, we saw the lager louts spring up and now, in the 1990s, we seem to have the phenomenon of gangs of teenagers from respectable homes committing vandalism.
I promised Mr. Webster that I would do what I could for him and that I would take the matter up at every level and investigate the causes of the problem. Those investigations proved most interesting. There are many structural reasons for such vandalism and many simple, practical reasons. I think it is worth drawing the House's attention to some of those reasons, because the problem is not confined to one area. Hon. Members on both sides of the House, and people throughout the country, will hear the ring of truth when I tell the House what is happening and why it happens.
For example, in recent years, Llantwit Major has undergone a dramatic increase in size; the population has increased by more than one fifth. However, the sad truth is that the facilities for youngsters and teenagers inthat community have not experienced an increase commensurate with the population increase. My old friend, Bob Fussell, who runs the youth centre, told me that as many as 120 young teenagers, up to the age of 14, might be at the youth club on a busy night. That is an indication of how many teenagers now live in the town. I am not convinced that enough is being provided for them to occupy their leisure time.
A common complaint from the youngsters is that, for years, there has been inadequate transport serving rural areas--a common theme throughout the country. We have inadequate bus services; a railway line runs through the town, but there is no passenger service. Youngsters have no access to cities and urban areas. It takes mum a couple of hours to do a round journey to the city to drop off the children so that they can go to the cinema, go skating or take up the same leisure options as other youngsters. That can cause some frustration, so the youngsters congregate in large numbers--30 or 40--usually after the disco on a Friday night, and end up doing a great deal of damage.
The area in which the youngsters congregate has extremely bad lighting--it is a shopping precinct off the main road in Llantwit Major. There are many alleyways through which the youngsters can get in and out, so, when the police arrive, as they frequently do, the youngsters disperse quickly. The local shop, Somerfield, leaves its trolleys out overnight, and we are trying to get it to stop doing so, because the youngsters use the trolleys to ram shop windows and do all sorts of damage. There are practical steps that we can take--for example, improve the lighting in that area. We have made representations to local agencies, and I am glad to say that, through the partnership approach that has been adopted and encouraged by the Government, great strides are being made in dealing with the problem.
I have to point out that one of the key factors is underage drinking by these very young teenagers and younger children. During my investigations on behalf of Mr. Webster, I was surprised to learn that the alcohol does not come from the local off-licence or the pub, being bought by an older teenager or an adult, or from the shops in the area that now sell alcohol. In fact, most of the
alcohol comes from the youngsters' homes: they take it from the fridge or from the cocktail cabinet, and--I hate to say this--occasionally their parents know what is going on and turn a blind eye, thinking that it is only a little youthful mischief. The children cannot handle their drink and they go out, get drunk and congregate in large groups; they often start showing off to each other and end up doing a great deal of damage, so undermining the quality of life for people living in a community that would otherwise enjoy many advantages.
Mr. David Drew (Stroud):
I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning me earlier. I concur with his argument that underage drinking is a common theme in these problems. From talking to my local police, I know that, often, when they have had occasion to take home very young, drunk children, either no parents are at home or, if the parents are at home, they tend to laugh off the incident; yet underage drinking and the behaviour associated with it feeds into a vicious circle and causes the problems about which my hon. Friend is talking.
Mr. Smith:
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, because he raises one of the key issues on which we should focus, and gives me an opportunity to draw it to the Minister's attention. I have already said that the partnership approach is the way to achieve results. We must support the police in any way that we can in policing such areas, by using the local authority, the voluntary sector and neighbourhood watch schemes. However, I passionately believe that parents must be part of that partnership: they must play a key role in what we are trying to do to stamp out vandalism in communities like Llantwit Major. If we do not involve parents fully, it will be extremely difficult to get rid of the relatively modern phenomenon of teenage gangs vandalising our rural town centres.
I do not think that parents believe what their children are up to. I have said it once, but I shall say it again: these are respectable families. The youngsters come from good homes which are, by and large, secure homes, and I do not think that parents believe that their little Johnny and their little Mary are out doing damage on Friday or Saturday night. Let us take tonight: I wonder how many parents in rural communities throughout England and Wales can put their hand on their heart and say with certainty where their 13, 14 and 15-year-old children are right now, at 10.30 on a weekday night. Many of them would be extremely surprised to discover what some of their youngsters are up to even in the middle of the week, and on a Friday or Saturday night the problem is 10 or 20 times worse. Parents have a key responsibility.
I have spoken to Mr. Webster and the other shopkeepers in the precinct and the surrounding area, and all give me the same message: something has to be done--this has gone on for years.
The local authority is considering the lighting and the access and egress. The police are focusing resources on the area, and the local youth club and the voluntary sector are co-ordinating their activities with other agencies. The shopkeepers believe that they need closed circuit television because of the area's layout. I support them in that request, and I have written to the Minister about the issue. I am delighted to say that he has replied, pointing
out that the prospectus for the Government's crime reduction plans will be released shortly, and that the £170 million accompanying it could include provision for closed circuit television in the area. I hope that the CCTV proposal will be considered sympathetically, and I am sure that the retailers and the whole community will submit a bid to that effect.
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