Fly-tipping is an enormous issue across the whole country. I hear regularly from my constituents the serious blight this has on their lives and health as they report countless incidents of fly-tipping almost every week.

We all know that fly-tipping is an indicator of local environmental quality, with seriously damaging social, environmental, and economic impacts and harmful health implications. It prevents people from feeling proud of where they live, it encourages crime and antisocial behaviour, and it costs millions of pounds to clean up.

Manchester City Council’s ability to tackle fly-tipping has reduced significantly over the last fourteen years due to Conservative Government’s austerity measures causing serious service reductions. While fly-tipping is undoubtedly an environmental concern, it is also a symptom of broader societal and economic issues, including the impact of poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.

Manchester has evolved its approach over the last decade to focus on engagement and education; target hardening fly-tipping hotspots; enforcement and development of services / infrastructure to support legitimate waste disposal routes for residents.

I commend all the fantastic organisations that continue to fight the scourge of fly-tipping.

For example, Keep Manchester Tidy (KMT) established a partnership with Manchester City Council and renowned environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. KMT has evolved to become a partnership involving everyone from residents and community groups to schools, businesses, organisations and service providers.

It is great to see residents volunteering in litter picks to make our communities cleaner and greener. This year, Manchester saw its highest number of volunteers to date supporting the national Great British Spring Clean. Over 100 litter picking events were held in Manchester and more than 2k litter pickers volunteered.

Despite the amazing dedication and hard work of our volunteers in Manchester, we shouldn’t have to rely on them to clean up our communities. It is clear we need to focus on developing a refreshed litter and fly-tipping strategy, driving behavioural change, and stricter enforcement.

This is why I am pleased that combatting fly-tipping was given time to be debated in Westminster Hall.

I am proud to support the Labour Government that will prioritise this issue moving forward.

Watch my intervention in the debate here