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Antisocial Behaviour

I thank my hon. Friend for that. As he knows, I completed my 50th year during the Christmas break. It is downhill from now on: cronyism beckons. Before I end my speech, I must refer to the problem of mini-motos. They are a real bane for many communities, but we must think carefully before we regulate, because many people use motorcycles responsibly for recreation purposes. Some use them for trial riding, for instance, while others take part in motocross. I suspect that if we try to clamp down on mini motos, the majority of law-abiding citizens will comply with the new legislation but the troublemakers will ignore it—that is similar to the situation in respect of guns. We must think carefully before we take action that might impinge on responsible motorcycle users. Finally, let me refer to a case that came to my attention this week via my new ““text your MP service””. A young lady contacted me and I rang her back right away. She has a problem in her street with people who have been subject to certain of the measures that we are discussing; they are no longer able to roam the streets but instead they go to particular houses, and that can be a real problem. The young lady who contacted me said that at the house next door to hers 20 people come and go at all times of the day and night and that there is noise; she has even had to install her own closed circuit television camera so that she can observe what goes on outside her home. She is not an old fogey; she is a 23-year-old with a young family. I pay tribute to the work being done by Scarborough borough council, North Yorkshire police and the police authority under the chairmanship of county councillor Jane Kenyon. Unlike in Hartlepool, we have been ahead of the game, and the lesson to be learned is that the types of issues that we are discussing need to be addressed not top-down by edict from Government, but from the bottom up by local people, communities and councillors deciding what is the best tailor-made approach to the problems that they face in their area. I am pleased that the Minister referred to that in his opening remarks; he said that we cannot have off-the-peg solutions to such problems, but that they must be tailor-made for every community. I am pleased about the progress that is being made in Scarborough. We are a good and safe place to come on holiday. Although there is still much to do in terms of addressing antisocial behaviour, under the inspired leadership of our Conservative-controlled borough and county councils we are moving in the right direction.