(Ealing, Southall)
(Lab):...I want to raise awareness of the constructive
relationship that LAGER Can has with Ealing
Council It makes them both more effective, saves
hard-stretched resources and shows the value of volunteers and
the esteem they are held in. Without them, much of the work would
not get done and we would all be worse off. I thank Ealing
Council It has recognised the value of the
partnership and has worked with LAGER Can, supporting that
organisation in material ways that make a difference...
LAGER Can is identifying hotspots and clearing them. That
intelligence and action helps Ealing
Council The group is not just tackling the problem
as it presents itself, but working to reduce it in the
future.
LAGER Can is partnering with schools and is having a great
impact. Khalsa school in Norwood Green in my constituency won the
Young Litter Heroes award this year, recognising pupils’ efforts
and their commitment to promoting environmental awareness and
reducing litter in communities. Khalsa school’s environmental
message is about protecting our green spaces, and these brilliant
litter heroes will be the next generation, reducing and tackling
fly-tipping and littering for good.
Last year, LAGER Can volunteers donated at least 16,506 hours
to Ealing
Council saving it approximately £282,000 in 2022,
and similar amounts in 2020 and 2021. Of course, this is not a
saving—the work just would not have been done without these
volunteers, who are performing a valuable service
for Ealing
Council and everyone who lives in the borough. I
declare my interest as one of those volunteers helping in my
constituency, in Norwood Green, Southall Green, around the
station and in the canal.
LAGER Can is clear and grateful in its words:
Ealing
Council provides excellent support to LAGER
Can.”
As part of that support, Ealing
Council provides the group with some
essentials—litter grabbers, LAGER Can-branded rubbish sacks, work
gloves and third-party and employer’s insurance—and ensures the
prompt removal and disposal of the rubbish collected, even from
private land. A volunteer provided with a litter grabber and a
roll of bags will have repaid the council in less than one hour
of volunteering—LAGER Can is great value for money.
However, the council does not just offer essentials; it works
with LAGER Can. Ealing
Council makes engagement a priority, and Cathy and
other volunteers are able to speak to key decision makers in the
council regularly to make suggestions and understand why
decisions are taken. Ealing
Council is usually highly responsive to requests made on
behalf of members. It is rewarding for LAGER Can members to know
that their requests are being taken seriously. Those involved do
not agree on everything, but everyone sees the relationship as
constructive and valuable, and working together as partners is
conducive to good-faith working...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ():...It is usually just a
careless minority who cause the issue. Councils have
responsibility for keeping our public places clear, but we simply
cannot underestimate the role and work of volunteers, who are
very much driven by a sense of civic duty, and by pride in their
community, which they want to be the best place possible in which
to live. In 2019, the Government provided £9.75 million for a
high street community clean-up fund, to empower local authorities
across England to support communities in undertaking
community-led high-street clean-ups. I have checked, and as far
as I know, I do not believe that Ealing
Council got any of that money, but it sounds as though
it was doing a good job anyway. Councils were able to use that
one-off funding to support volunteers. I think that the hon.
Member for Ealing, Southall, asked for more support for
volunteers; certainly, a lot of our recent funds have gone
towards them. For example, funds have gone towards supplying
people with litter-picking kit, and on training for residents in
how to remove graffiti, which is another blight...
...Alongside those increases, there are also new measures to help
councils issue more penalties. Under the action plan, there will
be a league table for local authorities on fly-tipping rates. In
other words, we will ask: how much are they actually enforcing
this? How often are they using the powers? I genuinely think that
would be helpful; we would see which are the active councils,
such as Ealing
Council and potentially Harrow Council. It is almost
naming and shaming. This problem really annoys people, and if
they saw that their council was using these powers, that would be
popular...
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