Jas Athwal

Thank you for calling me, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) for securing this important debate. If we want to revive our high streets, we need innovative solutions that bring customers back, as well as the basics of law and order, as has been mentioned. People must feel safe and it must be a pleasant experience. In my constituency of Ilford South, parking charges were preventing shoppers from visiting the high streets. Shops could not compete with the large supermarkets that offered free parking. As leader of the council, I listened to their local concerns and we intervened. Despite facing relentless cuts across the council, we introduced one hour of free parking. Of course, that one simple decision ensured that footfall came back to our high streets: one simple change made a huge difference. Ilford is certainly home to growing businesses, but one of the biggest issues for businesses is the lack of footfall from outside the area. That is why accessible local transport is so vital. I welcome the Superloop introduced by the Mayor of London, as well as the Elizabeth line, which has turned Ilford into somewhere people flock to from miles around. Before the election, a major barrier to budding entrepreneurs was the challenge of securing affordable premises. Last year, the Government launched the high street rental auction scheme, empowering local leaders to auction leases on premises that have stood empty for over a year. With one in seven properties on our high streets sitting vacant, the initiative is a crucial step towards reversing that trend. Despite the decline, our high streets can be revived and businesses can flourish once again through increased incentives for customers, lower burdens for businesses, a pleasant experience for shoppers and a level playing field for all.