Gill German

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) for securing the debate. Improving community safety in Clwyd North is one of my top priorities. It has been great to work alongside North Wales police through meetings and walkabouts, and to talk directly to retail workers and residents out and about in the town centre. I have seen how antisocial behaviour is being tackled through better community cohesion. Local PCSOs and shopkeepers are connected by radio in our town centres, staying in regular contact so that they can quickly share information about what is happening on the street and, crucially, step in when issues arise. That kind of everyday co-operation is making a difference by deterring antisocial behaviour before it escalates, reassuring residents and businesses with a visible presence, and bringing a sense of order and safety, which is so important. That really matters because it shows people that antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated, and that our communities, and crucially our high streets, belong to the law-abiding majority. We have got more PCSOs in every Clwyd North neighbourhood with a named officer in each one. We have got local initiatives, such as Operation Restore and Operation Vroom, to tackle violent offences, antisocial behaviour and persistent nuisance behaviour like e-bikes and disruption on our streets. In short, I can see first hand from being out and about in Clwyd North that Government-backed initiatives are being backed up by the local police’s confidence to really tackle issues. We have more PCSOs in our neighbourhoods, safer streets and stronger local communities. It makes a real difference and makes people feel secure.