As your local Member of Parliament and a proud resident, I want to make sure that Wolverhampton becomes a safer and a cleaner place to live in, work and visit. Below you will find details about some of the initiatives that I am running on this issue, and I would welcome your feedback on what more I could be doing on this.
Fostering Community Cohesion:
- I want people everywhere to feel secure in their communities and to be able to live their lives free from the threat of crime. My Safer Neighbourhoods Project has been launched to help me deliver on this priority. It consists of three elements - consultation, information, and action.
- I am pleased that the Government plans to invest an additional £35 million in the West Midlands Police. This will help us to deliver on our commitment to recruiting 20,000 extra police officers across the country. We have already delivered 6,000 - several hundred of which have been recruited in our region. On top of this, the West Midlands Police received £2,940,000 in March 2021 to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes in our community, whilst also funding vital early intervention programmes that do positive preventative work with children and young people.
Supporting Online Safety:
- I am encouraging constituents to stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic. Information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact can be found on GOV.UK.
- Customers can forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599 and access the National Cyber Security Centre’s guide on how to stay secure online and protect yourself and your business against cybercrime.
- Fraud or any incidents of cybercrime can be reported to Action Fraud using their online reporting service or by calling 0300 123 2040. Reports are passed to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. You will receive a police crime reference number.
Stuart's Street Clean:
- I made a pledge during my election campaign to work with residents to clean up the streets and to make our communities a better place to live in. As part of this, I set up ‘Stuart’s Street Cleans.’ These regular volunteering sessions have brought together many individuals from different backgrounds around one common endeavour: to tidy up our streets! While this seems like a simple thing to do, it is my personal belief that tidier communities are an essential ingredient that helps to create happier ones.
- In 2020, Stuart’s Street Cleans took place on the 13th of January, 28th of January, 7th of February, 11th of February, 18th of February, 6th of March, 7th of August, and 4th of September 2020. This had been impacted by Coronavirus and Stuart looks forwarding to holding more when possible. I would encourage anyone that would like to take part to contact me for more information.
Combatting Fly-tipping
- Fly-tipping is an unacceptable blight on local communities and the environment. I am pleased to have stood on a manifesto which committed the Government to increasing the penalties for this crime. Local authorities have a range of powers available to tackle fly-tipping, which include the power to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £400 for those caught fly-tipping. If you do see any incidents of fly-tipping, please be sure to report it to the appropriate authority, the City of Wolverhampton Council, at https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/environment-and-climate/fly-tipping.
- During my election campaign, I also campaigned for Wolverhampton’s tips to remain open seven days a week. The City Council made the difficult decision to close these sites to minimise social contact during Covid-19. I am pleased that Household Waste Recycling Centre are now re-open. From 1st June, the sites have been open for seven days a week from 10 am. I encourage all visitors to follow social distancing, to only make essential trips, and not to visit if any resident or their household has symptoms of Covid-19.
