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Lord Goldsmith: My Lords, I am sorry, I have not answered the question put to me by my noble friend Lord Sheldon. We have not confirmed a new Bill at the second stage. The review of powers, which I talked of before, may result in legislation, as may other business developments. There is nothing definite. However, to the extent that there is a need for new legislation, I am sure that everybody in the House—and, indeed, in another place—will look carefully at the reports I have identified to evaluate the proposals that are then put forward. In that respect, they will be helpful should such legislation be brought forward.
Baroness Noakes: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Newby, for his support of the concept lying behind the amendment. I also thank the Minister for the comprehensive way in which he responded to the amendment. In fact, he has moved on since we debated it in Grand Committee. The Minister first
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raised a fatal objection, which seemed to be that one bit of the Government did not like another bit appointing somebody to look at their own office—
Lord Goldsmith: My Lords, I am sorry, but that really underestimates the point. The whole purpose of separating the Revenue prosecuting office from Customs and Excise is to separate it. Lord Justice Butterfield said that it was essential that there should not be that connection. To treat them as still part of the same department, and thus reporting to the wrong Minister, undermines the constitutional importance of the independence of prosecutors. It is nothing to do with not liking one bit of the Government; I like my right honourable friend the Chancellor very much indeed.
Baroness Noakes: My Lords, I did not want to upset the Minister so much; I apologise if I have. It was only intended as a report to be laid before Parliament, not as a report to be made to the Chancellor to upset the Minister. Clearly, I must look at that aspect again carefully. I also want to read carefully what the Minister has said regarding placing on the record the report which he suggests will cover the concerns set out in subsection (2) of my amendment—apart from paragraph (h). I would like to look again to see the extent to which he has actually met the concerns. There was so much detail that it was difficult to do so. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment today, but reserve the right to return to it at Third Reading.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill
7.14 p.m.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. The central purpose of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill is to improve the local environment. The quality of our local neighbourhoods directly affects everybody's quality of life. It is the first thing that people think of when asked what makes the most important contribution to their environment or community. It also helps to create a clean, safe, green community—which helps the well-being and overall health of society.
This Bill will help local communities—rural and urban—to create neighbourhoods where people are happy to live. That means cleaner, safer streets; well designed public buildings and spaces; welcoming parks and village greens, and countryside free of fly-tipped waste. The Bill is also a fundamental part of government strategy for dealing with anti-social behaviour. Dirty streets, burnt-out cars, graffiti and piles of fly-tipped rubbish are all evidence of the types of anti-social behaviour that directly affect how safe
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we feel in our own neighbourhoods. Indeed, they matter to society as a whole. Their total cost amounts to over £3 billion to taxpayers and council tax payers.
However, the true impact of the Bill is wider than this. We believe it will help to tackle the continuum of behaviour ranging from comparatively low-level environmental offences such as dropping litter and fly-posting, through to more serious damage; spraying graffiti, vandalism, property damage and very serious crime. To deal with crime effectively, we need to tackle the full range of criminal and anti-social behaviour. We must not ignore low-level offences, or allow a degraded local environment to give people the message that dropping rubbish, spraying graffiti and other anti-social behaviour does not matter.
Hence, one of the Bill's key provisions recognises this link between crime and local environmental quality, by requiring crime and disorder reduction partnerships to tackle environmental crime where it is a priority in their area. This is already happening in some areas. We are not being prescriptive: where environmental crime is not such a problem, then it does not need to feature in their strategies. However, where there are problems, we expect local crime reduction partnerships to tackle them robustly. Our approach—which has been strongly endorsed by senior police representatives—will ensure that these local partnerships consider all the issues leading to crime and disorder in their community, including environmental crime.
This measure, and others in the Bill, is the result of extensive consultations led by Defra over the past two years—including the "clean neighbourhoods" consultation last year. The measures respond directly to what local authorities and the Environment Agency have told us about the obstacles to enforcing existing legislation, why some provisions are difficult to use, and about changes that are needed if we are really to tackle anti-social behaviour and environmental problems effectively. I hope that the Bill provides common-sense solutions to these problems, giving the new powers and better tools that have been asked for.
To encourage better enforcement, the Bill increases the number of offences for which fixed penalties can be used as an alternative to prosecution. Greater use of fixed penalty notices should provide better value for money for the taxpayer. Local authorities can, sometimes, be reluctant to prosecute environmental crimes, as they find it expensive and time-consuming simply to go through the courts. They do not always recover all their costs, even when successful. Local authorities will be able to keep the receipts from fixed penalties. That is to help offset the cost of enforcing the legislation. They will be able to vary the amounts of most of these penalties to reflect local conditions—and to offer discounts for early payment.
The Bill also gives new powers to parish councils so that the most local level of our democratic structures can play their part in creating cleaner, safer, greener communities. Parish councils—and community councils in Wales—will be able to issue fixed penalty
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notices for a range of offences relating to litter, graffiti, fly-posting and dogs. These are local problems which parish councils are well placed to address-being only too familiar with them. It is true that not all parish councils will want this power, or indeed be able to take advantage of it. Yet others, with the necessary skills and resources, will welcome it.
Another provision relates to the gating of highways that attract anti-social behaviour. They provide opportunities for crime, and we need to ensure we have the powers to deal with that. This will be particularly useful for those nuisance alleyways in some of our towns and cities. In this context, I am aware of the point made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and can clarify that this power is indeed also intended to deal with anti-social behaviour on highways other than just alleys: it is the behaviour, rather than the type of highway, that we are focusing on. In all these circumstances, gating will be reversible. Should local conditions improve or needs change, it can easily be reversed.
Another problem is that of abandoned or nuisance vehicles. This Bill will help the Government achieve a reduction in the number of such vehicles that do so much to blight our communities. It will strengthen local authorities' powers to remove immediately abandoned vehicles from the streets and to reduce opportunities for arson and other forms of vandalism. It will also make it an offence to sell or repair cars on the road as part of a business.
The Bill tackles the growing problem of litter with a wide range of measures. It will close a loophole in the current law to make it clear that dropping litter anywhere is unacceptable. Neglected areas of land such as the gardens of unoccupied houses can often attract large amounts of litter. The Bill will enable local authorities to make the owner or occupier of land that is heavily littered responsible for ensuring that it is cleared and to prevent the site reverting to a littered state. We will continue to encourage tough action against those who drop litter, but owners and occupiers themselves also have a responsibility to keep their land clear of large amounts of litter.
Other litter measures include making street litter control notices, which deal with the litter generated by businesses such as fast food outlets, much easier to use. Local authorities will also be able to control the distribution of flyers and leaflets. The Bill clarifies that cigarette butts and chewing gum are litter and within the definition of the term. Thus it confirms, for the avoidance of doubt, that local authorities can take action against people dropping these materials. It also confirms that local authorities have a duty to clean streets of gum and cigarette butts, but it does not extend or add to that duty.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 addressed the blight of graffiti through graffiti removal notices which this Bill will extend to cover fly-posting, alongside other measures to enable local authorities to deal more effectively with the fly-posting problem.
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Fly-tipping is a real and serious problem in both our towns and in the countryside. As well as degrading the local area, it can have environmental and health risks. We are providing a range of measures to strengthen the legislation and to increase the penalties for fly-tipping. This includes the problem of fly-tipping on derelict sites where an absentee landlord allows his land to be used as an illegal dump. Enforcement agencies will be able to require the landowner to remove the waste. But we will continue to protect responsible owners who are the innocent victims of fly-tipping, so this will be enforced only where there is no occupier on the land, and then only if the owner knew about or allowed the fly-tipping to happen.
The Bill's fly-tipping measures will enable the Environment Agency and local authorities to deal more effectively and more immediately with those responsible for fly-tipping. We hope that this will send a strong message that fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime, and one which will not be tolerated.
The Bill also gives local authorities greater flexibility to carry out their waste management obligations more effectively, and reforms the recycling credit scheme to bring it in line with current measures to encourage reuse and recycling.
The Bill provides parish councils and district councils with new powers to control dogs, simplifying the current by-law system. It also gives local authorities sole responsibility for dealing with stray dogs. This provision has been welcomed by the police, and we have worked closely with the Kennel Club, the Dogs Trust and the RSPCA to ensure that the welfare of stray dogs is safeguarded.
We are broadening the measures to deal with the nuisances caused by noise, insects and artificial lighting. Noise problems, such as from malfunctioning burglar alarms and badly sited security lighting can cause real problems for neighbours, while insect infestations arising from some activities—such as sewage treatment works—can make life a real misery for local people.
The Bill contains a measure to put the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the Government's champion in England for architecture and the design of public space, on a statutory basis. This changes CABE's status, but not its role or responsibilities, although it will enhance the body's accountability to Parliament.
All the measures I have described are common sense and necessary. They address the day-to-day problems faced by many of our citizens. They have attracted widespread support among the groups we have consulted, as well as from the relevant enforcement agencies. For example, the Environment Agency is "strongly supportive" of these provisions, while the Local Government Association has said that it is,
We believe that they will improve people's quality of life and provide opportunities for local authorities and other enforcement agencies to make life better for our citizens.
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This Bill is an integral part of the Government's strategy for improving the environment, for developing a more sustainable future and for dealing with anti-social behaviour. It responds to calls by individuals, groups, local authorities and enforcement agencies to be given the practical tools needed to promote cleaner, safer and greener communities.
The Bill has been widely supported by all political parties both here and in another place and by stakeholders. I hope that it will be given a positive passage through the course of its proceedings in this House, although no doubt we shall have our usual interesting debates on certain aspects of its provisions. I commend the Bill to the House.
Moved, That the Bill be now read a second time.—(Lord Whitty.)
7.26 p.m.
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