Mary Creagh welcomes Policing Minister to Coventry East

Mary Creagh MP and Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP visit Foleshill to hear directly from local businesses and police about tackling anti-social behaviour

Mary Creagh MP was joined by Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP for a walkabout in Foleshill to see first-hand the action being taken to tackle anti-social behaviour and support local businesses.

The visit included a walk along Foleshill Road, stops at local anti-social behaviour hotspots, and a meeting with the local police team. Mary and Sarah spoke directly to shopkeepers about the issues affecting businesses and residents in the area, including at Edgwick Park, where a new Public Spaces Protection Order has recently been introduced alongside increased police patrols along Foleshill Road, particularly at night.

They were joined by Councillor John McNicholas, Labour Cabinet Member for Community Safety, who set out the action Coventry City Council is taking to tackle problem premises and close down businesses linked to criminality and anti-social behaviour. Just last month, West Midlands Police, HMRC and Trading Standards visited premises in the area, seizing more than 1,600 litres of illicit alcohol.

The visit comes as the Labour Government strengthens the powers available to police and councils to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour and protect local high streets.

New Respect Orders will allow courts to ban persistent adult offenders from engaging in specified activities linked to their anti-social behaviour. Breaching an order will be a criminal offence, giving police stronger powers to intervene.

The Government is also giving police and local authorities more time to investigate and shut down premises linked to organised crime. The maximum length of Closure Orders will double from six to 12 months, helping to stop dodgy businesses — from illegal vape shops to dodgy barbers — reopening while investigations continue.

A new £30 million enforcement offensive will target illegal trading through raids, arrests and cash seizures, helping to protect legitimate businesses from being undercut by criminals while tackling the wider organised crime that can affect local communities.

Labour is also giving local people and councils a greater say over the future of their high streets. New vape shops will require planning permission, making it easier to prevent them opening in unsuitable locations, including near schools.

The action in Foleshill sits alongside wider progress across the West Midlands: there are already 440 more neighbourhood police officers on our streets as part of Labour's pledge to put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back into communities nationally, and knife crime across the region is already down 15%, as part of Labour's mission to halve knife crime over a decade.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP said:

"Anti-social behaviour can have a devastating impact on local people, businesses and communities, and tackling it is a priority for this Government.

"That is why we are strengthening the powers available to police and councils, including introducing Respect Orders to deal with persistent adult offenders.

"We are also stepping up enforcement against illegal trading and organised criminality, protecting legitimate businesses from being undercut and helping communities take back control of their high streets."

Mary Creagh, MP for Coventry East, said:

"People in Foleshill deserve to feel safe, and local businesses deserve to be able to trade without being undermined by anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.

"It was important to come here with the Policing Minister and hear directly from local shopkeepers, the police and Councillor John McNicholas about the problems they are facing and the action being taken.

"Labour is giving the police and councils the powers they need to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour and problem premises, while supporting the responsible businesses that are the backbone of our high streets.

"We are determined to bring hope back to Foleshill Road and make sure local people feel pride in their high street again."