Yesterday the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan to tackle anti-social behaviour and help local people and businesses to revitalise high streets. Anti-social behaviour is a blight upon local communities, it prevents people from enjoying their local area or frequenting high streets and town centres, makes women and girls feel unsafe, and erodes a sense of community.

I welcome this announcement, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour is key to restoring pride in local communities and making residents feel safer. The new plan will crack down on offenders, empower councils with tougher enforcement powers, ban nitrous oxide and ensure stronger policing responses to target anti-social behaviour. Research has shown that anti-social behaviour is the main reason people do not feel safe in their area and this zero-tolerance approach will help to ensure people and residents feel safe in the place they call home.

Seeing empty shops and buildings also adds further to the sense of community decline, therefore, councils will be armed with new powers through High Street Rental Auctions to take control quickly of empty buildings and rent them out to local communities and businesses. The new plan will make £2 million available to help communities and local businesses take control of these properties by covering the cost of refurbishing properties, the auction and council fees. This new scheme will breathe new life into long vacant shops and ensure high streets do not fall into decline, giving more opportunities for local businesses to expand and thrive. Having campaigned to make Hornchurch and Upminster town centres safer and more inviting places to visit I hope this plan will give our communities new opportunities to regenerate and will restore local pride.

I have attached below a copy of a letter I received from Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities updating me on this new announcement.