Claire Hughes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chancellor for her statement and for what is a record-breaking settlement for the Welsh Government to invest in public services in Wales. On Wales, I understand that some Opposition Members might not be happy with the announcement, but my constituents who rely on the north Wales main line to get to work, as well as those of my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd North (Gill German), will be delighted. Does the Chancellor agree that investment in rail is about so much more than trains and tracks; it is about connecting people across Wales with opportunities and jobs?

• 22 Apr 2025 · Littering from Vehicles (Offences) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to increase penalties for civil offences relating to littering from vehicles; to make provision about the use of technology in detecting and identifying persons who have committed such offences; and for connected purposes. I start by thanking the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), for being here today. When I was first elected last year, I did not expect that litter would be one of the first issues I would be campaigning on in Parliament, but over the past nine months it is something that constituents have raised with me again and again, because frankly, they are fed up. Roadside littering has become more than just an eyesore. For many, it is a visible sign of a lack of respect for our environment, for our communities and for each other. Right now, too many people seem to think it acceptable to buy a takeaway from a drive-through, to eat it, drink it on the go, and then throw the rubbish out the window. Research backs that up. The road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found in February this year that nearly 40% of motorcyclists had experienced car drivers or passengers throwing litter out their window while overtaking. National Highways found that 65% of drivers who admit to littering have thrown food and drink packaging from their vehicle. Keep Wales Tidy reported that fast-food litter hit its highest-ever levels in its latest annual report in 2023. It appears that while some people care a lot about keeping their cars clean, they are not nearly as bothered about keeping our communities clean. Scientific litter mapping carried out on road networks in and around Cardiff showed that litter was dropped every three seconds. That is the equivalent of 28,800 pieces of litter every day in just one city. When roadsides are already strewn with litter, it signals that littering is acceptable and it encourages more of the same. In rural and coastal areas, such as those I represent in north Wales, roadside litter adds to the growing sense that tourism, while vital to our local economy, places a disproportionate burden on local residents and the authorities tasked with cleaning up. To be clear, littering is already a criminal offence in England and Wales under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Local authorities can issue fixed penalty notices in lieu of prosecution of up to £500 in England and £150 in Wales. In England, if someone is caught throwing litter from a vehicle, litter authorities can also issue a civil penalty, even if they cannot establish the identity of the person who threw the litter. It is evident, though, that the current penalties are not acting as a sufficient deterrent. We only need to look out of our car window the next time we slow down near a roundabout or traffic lights to see the evidence. Litter is not just ugly; it puts those tasked with clearing it up at risk, and it costs UK taxpayers a massive £1 billion a year to clear it up. Many of us would agree that money could be better spent elsewhere, including on our NHS. Litter also has serious social and environmental consequences. It is estimated that 3 million animals die due to litter in the UK every year. Discarded food attracts wildlife such as deer and foxes to the side of the road, where they are more likely to be hit by cars. Small mammals get trapped in bottles and die. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals receives about 10 calls a day about animals injured or killed by waste, and it believes the actual number to be far higher. We are said to be a nation of animal lovers, but the figures suggest otherwise. Litter from vehicles makes its way to the sea. A staggering 350 kg of litter was collected in just one day by North Wales Wildlife Trust volunteers during their annual beach clean-up in January. Not all of that will have been thrown from vehicles, of course, but a significant proportion of that which gets thrown from cars ends up getting blown into watercourses and ends up in our rivers and streams. Microplastics are another huge concern as litter degrades in the environment. Bangor University conducted some of the world’s first-ever research looking at microplastics in the UK’s rivers and lakes and even found them in a remote lake near the summit of Yr Wyddfa. I am therefore pleased that both the UK and Welsh Governments are taking action to tackle this kind of pollution, including by restricting single-use plastics and introducing deposit return schemes. To truly get a grip of this problem, we need a multi-pronged approach, and tackling roadside littering has to be part of that. Some people might say that a lack of litter bins is to blame, and I do not disagree that more bins would help. The Road Haulage Association, which I have met, is calling for better facilities for long-distance lorry drivers, and I fully support that ask. However, a lack of bins does not make it okay for anyone to throw cans, food packaging or empty bottles on our roads knowing that somebody else will have to pick it up. I am sure that every Member of this House would join me in thanking the army of volunteers up and down the country who dedicate their time and energy to litter-picking week in, week out. In my constituency, groups such as the Friends of Mostyn Street in Llandudno, Trash Free Trails and Keep Bangor Tidy—to name just a few—remove huge quantities from our communities. We owe them all a huge debt of thanks, but we cannot keep expecting volunteers to clear up after the minority of people who have refused to act responsibly. One of the central missions of this Government is to take back our streets, tackling crime and restoring a sense of order. I strongly welcome the measures being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill to crack down on antisocial behaviour and to stop turning a blind eye to what the last Government deemed “low-level crimes”. In a similar vein, this Bill proposes increased civil penalties for littering from vehicles, because I strongly believe that we need stronger deterrents. The Bill also allows for an expansion in the use of technology for the identification of offenders, which is currently a barrier to enforcement and further weakens the deterrent powers of fixed penalty notices. We need to ensure that the law keeps pace with advances in technology, which will not only increase the detection rate, but reduce the costs of enforcement. To conclude, this Labour Government are relentlessly focused on the priorities of working people in our country, and 81% of people in the UK say that litter makes them feel angry and frustrated. There are many pressing issues in the Government’s in-tray inherited from the last 14 years, but tackling roadside littering will help restore pride in our communities, protect biodiversity and support nature restoration. I hope that the House will support this Bill. I thank the House for giving its time and attention to this important matter. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, That Claire Hughes, Mr Alex Barros-Curtis, Andrew Ranger, Ann Davies, Becky Gittins, Catherine Fookes, Kanishka Narayan, Llinos Medi and Sarah Coombes present the Bill. Claire Hughes accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 May, and to be printed (Bill 222).

• 27 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. People in my constituency desperately need better and faster railway connections across our region and into the north-west of England to connect with jobs and opportunities. I thank the Secretary of State for her positive engagement with the Welsh Government and the Secretary of State for Wales on the topic of rail infrastructure in Wales. Will she meet me and colleagues from north Wales to specifically discuss the latest on the north Wales main line?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for securing this important debate, and specifically for mentioning road safety on rural roads. Sadly, nowhere is the devastating impact of crashes on rural roads better demonstrated than by telling Olivia’s story. Olivia Alkir, a much-loved 17-year-old, was denied her bright future when she was killed in the passenger seat of a friend’s car. The driver had been racing on another rural road when he lost control and crashed head-on into an approaching vehicle at 80 mph. He had only passed his driving test the day before. Olivia’s tragic death in 2019 devastated her family, of course, but also the wider community of Efenechtyd, near Ruthin. Olivia’s mother, Jo, is determined that her daughter’s story will save other people’s lives. I am sure that it already has saved lives, because Olivia’s family decided to work with North Wales Police to create a hard-hitting film designed to warn other young people about the dangers of reckless driving. Olivia’s story has been shown to learner drivers in schools all across Wales and indeed in this House, thanks to the work of my predecessor, Simon Baynes, who represented what was then the constituency of Clwyd South. Olivia’s story brings into sharp focus the need for action. I welcome the new Government’s road safety review and I implore the Minister to leave no stone unturned in her mission to improve road safety for young people, including learning from other countries, listening to campaigners such as Crystal Owen and considering the use of emerging technologies, such as AI and telematics, which are developing all the time. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to the debate and to seeing further action in the coming months.

• 17 Jan 2025 · Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. This democratic deficit really needs to be addressed. It is very important that that is done before the next Senedd and Scottish elections in 2026. As other Members have said, there are real public transport challenges in largely rural constituencies such as mine. We also suffer a lot, would you believe, with bad weather, so having the options of postal votes and proxy votes is very important. We also have the university in Bangor and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North also said, having different options for students and young people is particularly important. There are very many reasons to make it easier for people to vote by proxy and by post. As I said, it is urgent. I hope all Members see that and back the progression of the Bill.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  As has already been said, passengers on the north Wales coast are being let down by the poor performance of Avanti. This issue is affecting passengers and businesses, and hampering economic growth in my constituency of Bangor Aberconwy. What specific discussions has the Secretary of State had with our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on this issue?