FORMER WALES RUGBY INTERNATIONAL TONIA ANTONIAZZI MP JOINS SCARLETS BOARD
Tonia will champion & support growth of women’s and girls’ rugby in the Scarlets Region Tonia Antoniazzi, Member of Parliament for Gower, has called on the UK Government to take action to protect businesses and consumers amid rising rates of shoplifting.
According to data released in February by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body representing retail businesses in the UK, incidents of customer theft have risen to a record 16.7 million, up from 8 million the previous year. The BRC estimates the cost to retailers last year of this shoplifting epidemic was £1.8bn, up from £950mn and the highest amount on record. The impact on shop workers has been clear with incidents of violence and abuse of shop workers soaring by 50% over the past year. The BRC estimates a staggering 1,300 incidents each day last year of racial abuse, sexual harassment, physical assaults, and threats with weapons. Tonia Antoniazzi spoke to local shop workers and owners in Gorseinon to discuss their experiences and concerns on the frontline of this surge in shoplifting and violence. Tonia backed plans to tackle soaring rates of shop lifting by reversing the decision by the Conservative Government in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to downgrade the police response to the theft of items worth less than £200. Under the 2014 Act, any incidents involving goods below £200 would have to be tried as “summary only offences.” This has led to many defendants being able to plead guilty by post and pay a small fine - thereby avoiding a court appearance. In practice, it has acted as a signal to the police to deprioritise any enforcement for shoplifting of goods below £200 at all – even in cases of repeat and organised shoplifting - with arrests for theft offences falling from 136,000 in 2018 to just 78,000 in 2022. Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour MP for Gower said: “Too many communities and high streets are being blighted by staggering increases in shoplifting, up 30 per cent in the last year alone. Since 2010, the Conservative government has decimated neighbourhood policing, leaving our town centres unprotected, and introduced a rule meaning that shoplifting of goods under £200 isn’t being investigated. This Tory ‘Shoplifter’s Charter’ has left local businesses and retail workers at the mercy of criminals. "Enough is enough. Labour called for tougher action on criminals who assault shop-workers and only in the past month did the Government finally act. The Tories should follow Labour’s lead again and remove the £200 rule that is letting shoplifters off the hook. “Britain cannot afford more damaging decline from the Conservatives on crime and justice. Labour will restore the rule of law on Britain’s high streets and in our town centres. More widely, Labour have pledged to tackle crime across England and Wales by reintroducing neighbourhood policing with 13,000 more police and PCSOs on the streets, including a named officer to lead on tackling anti-social behaviour. Tonia Antoniazzi shows support for ‘urgent’ Bill to protect welfare of cats, dogs and ferrets27/3/2024
For the sake of our beautiful coastline, we must bring an end to sewage pollution.
The UKs waterways and coastlines are in crisis. Extreme weather, pollution, climate impacts, industrial and agricultural processes, and associated water demand and population growth have all placed enormous pressure on our antiquated plumbing and drainage networks. The alarming statistics speak for themselves: in 2022 alone, a staggering 399,864 instances of raw sewage discharges into UK water bodies were recorded, with 1,924 reported cases of illness linked to sewage contamination by Surfers Against Sewage. To show support for water users and water lovers affected by pollution, I joined water users including surfers, swimmers, canoers and business in Westminster at the launch of the End Sewage Pollution Manifesto, created by Surfers Against Sewage, and the End Sewage Pollution Coalition. The End Sewage Pollution Coalitions manifesto sets out a five-point plan to restore the health and safety of the UK's waterways. The manifesto includes 5 key policies which parties can adopt to turn the tide on sewage pollution, Including: 1. Enforce existing regulations and laws. 2. Hold companies accountable for their environmental impact and preventing pollution for profit. 3. Take immediate and targeted action to address pollution into protected nature and bathing sites. 4. Embrace a nature-led approach to tackling sewage pollution. 5. Ensure nationwide transparency regarding sewage pollution levels. The upcoming election presents a genuine opportunity for an incoming government to take further steps to address sewage pollution. That’s why I'm committed to supporting the aims of the manifesto in order to protect and champion the water users of Gower. Across the UK, 1 in 3 children leave primary school unable to swim, up from 1 in 4 in 2022. Childhood drownings have increased by 43% in the last year. We need urgent interventions to keep our children safe around water, and save lives. In January, I joined Speedo Swim United and Speedo athletes Ellie Simmonds OBE and Michael Gunning for the unveiling of the results of their 2023 pop-up pool initiative - Taking Pools to Playgrounds. The innovative programme brought temporary pools to seven schools in disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities across the Black Country, an area with a swimming attainment of less than 50 per cent and most children within walking distance of open water. Through focused on-site swimming interventions, 742 children participated in daily swimming lessons for 3 weeks. Over the course of the programme, pupils of all swimming ability improved their swimming skills, with children and schools experiencing additional benefits such as reduced travel time, improved behaviour and maximised time in the water. As a result of the Swim United intervention:
Within their report, Speedo Swim United are calling on policymakers to reform the school swimming education system. Alongside Swim United, I am calling for:
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