Juliet Campbell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Fly-tipping: Residential Areas · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for securing this important debate on an issue that affects almost everybody in this room. The waste crime action plan put forward by the Government contains several promising measures to tackle the persistent issue of fly-tipping in our communities. I welcome the additional £45 million allocated to the Environment Agency for waste crime enforcement, which will go a long way to strengthening investigations and addressing the problem at source. However, the measures proposed could go further, because residents like mine in Broxtowe have reported that rubbish is not only being left in the alleyway behind their property but being thrown over their fence and left in their garden. After reporting the incident, they discovered that as the landowner, they were responsible for clearing the waste themselves, as well as the associated costs. I am sure we would all agree that that just cannot be right. Victims of fly-tipping should not be left to bear the cost of the crime committed against them, yet this widespread injustice continues across the country. The legal framework already allows for significant penalties, including unlimited fines, vehicle seizures and even custodial sentences. However, these powers are too rarely enforced. In fact, despite more than 1.26 million recorded incidents, enforcement action remains astoundingly low. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, less than 0.2% of perpetrators have enforcement action taken against them. My residents in Stapleford who live in an area with a communal garden space have repeatedly raised concerns about waste being dumped in that area, and the council continues to clear it. Time and again, the cycle persists, because those responsible are not being held to account. The core issue is that without resources to properly investigate, enforcement action cannot be taken, and therefore we will never tackle the root cause of fly-tipping. I urge the Minister to consider further resources for local authorities that will allow them to form fly-tipping enforcement teams that could sufficiently investigate instances of fly-tipping so that strong enforcement action can be taken. That would not just be to clear the waste, but to pursue offenders and recover the costs. I hope that the Minister will also consider stronger measures to ensure that offenders are held to account in instances where they are identified, so that they not only face fines but are required to cover the full cost of clearance and disposal, therefore removing the burden from victims.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Sale of Fireworks · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for introducing the petition for debate. It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of constituents who have contacted me on many occasions about this very issue: the impact the widespread sale and use of fireworks has on their lives. The issue clearly resonates not just in my constituency but for people across the country. I have received correspondence from residents, pet owners and farmers who are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of animals. I have a cat myself, and she is left inconsolable by the noise on bonfire night, which can cause lots of distress to pets and livestock. However, the problem is not just limited to animals; I have had emails from veterans, people with PTSD, elderly people and others who are sensitive to loud noises, who find fireworks just too distressing. I have had emails from people from Eastwood, Chilwell, Beeston, Bramcote, Cossall, Trowell and Awsworth—from across my whole constituency. Some constituents have also written to tell me that there have been injuries from fireworks. I will give two examples. One constituent described an incident in which a misfired rocket headed towards a child’s pram. It was only because of the quick thinking and actions of a bystander that the child was unharmed, although that courageous bystander suffered burns himself. Another constituent described how her son was shot at with fireworks on his way home from school. We can only imagine the distress that that caused. I am sure that many Members around the room will have equally troubling accounts from their constituents. Stories such as those show us why stronger measures are now essential. That said, I do acknowledge the importance of fireworks in community celebrations such as new year’s eve and bonfire night. Those occasions bring people across Broxtowe and the UK together, so it is vital that we do not diminish them, but it is clear that we need regulations.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. I have received numerous emails from my constituents in Broxtowe, raising concerns about the loss of or threat to meadows. Meadows are critical to our environment and have been part of our natural heritage for centuries. They provide a wealth of benefits such as a unique wildlife habitat, flood alleviation and the promotion of clean air. Without better protection, remaining historic meadows and their ecological value risk vanishing beneath our feet. Will the Minister commit to including the protection of meadows in the list of irreplaceable habitats?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Early Years Providers: Government Support · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for securing this important debate. I welcome the Government’s efforts to make early years provision more accessible, and I am proud that they have taken the necessary steps to better support young families and give every child the best start in life. The importance of early years providers is well understood. Studies have shown that high-quality early years support influences later wellbeing for both mental and physical health, as well as building resilience. We know that high-quality early years support affects attainment during the early years and future education. However, families in disadvantaged areas tend not to access early years services as frequently as families in more affluent areas. Currently, only 36% of families in the lower income bracket use formal childcare services during the early years, compared with 73% of those from higher earning families. Children who do not receive early years education and support can be significantly disadvantaged. They are more likely to experience developmental deficiencies and deficits, leaving them lagging behind. That should not be the case. The economic gap in accessing early years provision can mean that some children begin primary school or early education without the necessary skills they need to effectively transition to that stage. The early years foundation stage statutory framework sets out the specific skills that children should have developed by the time they arrive at school, including being toilet trained, simple letter recognition, and socialising with their peers. Children who do not access early years provision are less likely to be equipped with those skills, which means that teachers face increased pressure to bring those children up to the required standard. When children arrive without the necessary skills, teachers are forced into the role of parent in an environment where their role is to be an educator. That can reduce the quality of teaching for the whole classroom, and the delivery of the curriculum is slowed down. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to ensure that every child has the best start in life. That involves providing support to parents, and children, from pregnancy to age five, and making early years services more accessible to lower-income families. To echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest, someone’s background should not determine their outcome. However, there is still work to be done. For example, I would like to see dedicated outreach efforts in areas of deprivation to help close the inequality gap between those who access early years services and those who do not. Every child should arrive on their first day of primary school with the skills that they need to thrive. Will the Minister therefore commit to implementing dedicated outreach and parenting programmes for the most deprived areas, as an essential part of making sure that support reaches families who need it the most? In doing so, we help both parents and teachers provide the best start in life for every child.