---

Crime and Security Bill

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman's Whip, the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson), has noted that bid to serve on the Committee, which would be the best way to ensure that those matters are raised there. The third aspect of the Bill I am pleased with are the provisions on antisocial behaviour. The Home Secretary has made this a priority for the Home Office. It is useful for politicians to say that they are against antisocial behaviour, but the Home Secretary has gone out of his way to ensure that this Department has treated this issue sensibly and given it priority. I liked what he said about the Fiona Pilkington case, because it is easy to accept that the relationships between various agencies are going well, but in that case there was clearly a breakdown in communication between the police and other agencies, which meant that the reports made by the Pilkington family were not acted on as quickly as they should have been. Every hon. Member will have had constituents coming to their surgeries and complaining about antisocial behaviour, and we write to the police and local authority asking for something to be done urgently. Our wish is to ensure that the system works. Legislation is fine, and new orders will be great, but we need to ensure—and I think that the Home Secretary "gets this"— that all the agencies act together quickly so that if people complain to the police they feel that something positive is being done quickly.