Before getting into the main topic, I would like to let you all know about a new arrival. My wife Laura and I were very pleased to welcome the birth of our new baby daughter. Our summer will be extremely busy, and I know that our son is keen to be a hands-on big brother.
Many of you will know that I am a lifelong Stoke-on-Trent resident and being a local lad, I could not think of anywhere else I would like to raise my young family. Raising my now two children in our city often makes me reflect on what the future holds for them and all children in our city.
We would all want Stoke-on-Trent to be a safe city and I know that residents will join me in saying that crime has no home here. Many people have contacted me recently about some of the issues we are seeing in the town centre with crime and anti-social behaviour. I have been repeatedly raising these issues with the police and the council, I know the Safer City Partnership are determined to take action to address these issues. The police have now started a specific operation in Longton, and they are working with the council to better coordinate both enforcement and look at what additional actions can be taken.
Recently, I have been out and about in Longton with Staffordshire Police alongside the Council Leader, Cllr Abi Brown and Council officers, including the rough sleeper team. This gave me a valuable insight into the work being initiated to tackle our concerns. We have seen repeated incidents of late in the town centre, whether its general ASB or businesses and empty buildings being targeted. This must not be allowed to continue and will not be tolerated.
It is totally unacceptable for town centre small businesses to be the targets of mindless crime and I know the Staffordshire Business Crime Reduction Partnership have also been working to help support business who have been the victim of crime. We must also see action against those who enable or do little to prevent such illegal behaviour. We have unfortunately seen some property owners unwilling to engage and are quite willing to see high street properties they own turn to rack and ruin.
We must be proactive in helping rejuvenate our high streets and I have mentioned before the significant investment we are working to bring to Longton. Whether this be through the work currently ongoing to turn the town hall into enterprise space thanks to Build Back Better Funding, the Levelling up Fund investment to bring new housing to the Tams Crown Works, the Transforming Cities Fund investment in refurbishing Longton Station, or the soon to get going PSICA Scheme which will invest in bringing back to life high street properties on Market Street.
Alongside this we also need a proactive approach to enforcement, it must always be carrot and stick. I hope we will particularly see use of more S215 enforcement notices by the council to force those property owners to take action to improve the condition of our important local heritage and high street buildings. I particularly also welcome new powers the Government is putting in place to further beef up these powers, including the option of compulsory auctions of properties that are left to decline to such a poor state. I fully support action against those who fail to engage or deliberately undermine our efforts to level up our city.
I am also extremely concerned about the worrying rise we are seeing in the trade of illegal drugs on our streets. It is especially concerning to see Monkey Dust production and consumption on the rise again. This drug is ruining lives and blighting our city. The horrific drug is too cheaply and readily available in Stoke-in-Trent. It is hallucinogenic and extremely dangerous with reports of people jumping off buildings, starting fires, eating through glass and even dropping dead immediately as a result of taking it. I know the police and others are taking robust action to target those who think they can get away with plying this trade.
I am also pleased that Stoke-on-Trent has been allocated £5.3 million from the government to tackle drug misuse and help addicts with their treatment and recovery. Along with this increase in funding, we also need to urgently reclassify monkey dust as a Class A drug to choke off its supply; drive up its cost; and increase the consequences for gangs and dealers.
Currently, Monkey Dust is a Class B drug which means you’d get a sentence of 14 years and a fine if you make it or supply it. If it becomes a Class A drug, you’d face up to life in prison, meaning that those supplying and producing Monkey Dust can receive the harshest of sentences. We need a rounded approach to kick drugs out of our city, and that includes a combination of treatment and recovery support alongside harsher sentences for dealers.
Over the summer I am going to be calling on Stoke-on-Trent residents to please help me reclassify monkey dust to a Class A drug. I will shortly be releasing a petition and by residents signing this petition we can use a collective voice to call on the Government to support our campaign to tackle the scourge of monkey dust.
