Selby Times - June 2025

The House of Commons had a short recess last month, giving MPs the chance to spend an uninterrupted week at home in their constituencies. I used my week to focus on tackling crime and antisocial behaviour - an issue of continued importance to people right across Selby, and one that the government has set about addressing through our Crime and Policing Bill. Criminality impacts people regardless of background, income or age, and that is why I'm passionate about making sure we get tougher on tackling crime – from rural crime like lamping, use of off-road bikes on fields, or theft of agricultural equipment, to urban crimes like shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.

I started the week by holding a drop-in event at OurSpace on Flaxley Road, where I was joined by the Deputy Mayor for Crime and Policing, Jo Coles, and representatives of North Yorkshire Police. We used the time to discuss their approach to tackling ASB, and heard from local people about how they would like to see it tackled going forward. It’s clear that people want a more visible police presence, and that's why I'm pleased to report that North Yorkshire’s Labour Deputy Mayor is funding 52 new police constables and PCSOs in our force area. I've also heard from people in Sherburn just how sick and tired they are of the same group of local youths causing issues, and there is now a dispersal order in place to give the Police greater powers to move them on. In Parliament, I'll continue to back legislation which increases the powers Police have to tackle those who persistently engage in ASB.

Later in the week, I joined North Yorkshire Police on one of their local patrols, seeing firsthand the commitment and sacrifice of local Police officers. I have enormous respect for their patience, commitment and resilience when dealing with members of the public who are often in an incredibly difficult place. Only this week, North Yorkshire Police marked 33 years since the death of SC Glenn Goodman, who was shot by the IRA during a routine patrol in Tadcaster. It serves as a reminder, if one was needed, that Police officers put their lives on the line day in, day out.

One of the top issues which has been raised with me over the course of the week - and during my time as MP - is the chaos caused to communities by off-road bikes. The Labour Government has introduced new legislation, making its way through Parliament, to clamp down on this destructive and dangerous criminal activity, with new powers for our police allowing them to not only seize off-road bikes used illegally, but to crush them too - reducing the chance that they'll be used for reoffending to zero.

It was also clear throughout the week the level of frustration so many people had at the levels of 'low-level' criminality they experienced in their day-to-day lives. I have every faith in North Yorkshire Police, who I know are committed to tackling crime and providing a better service to victims. Last month, the force ranked 5th in its 999 call handling times nationally - an enormous improvement on a few years ago. But this does not detract from the fact that the criminal justice system as it stands is not doing enough to deter criminals and provide justice for victims.

Over their fourteen years in government, the Conservatives added just 500 prison spaces. For context, the previous Labour government added 28,000 spaces over thirteen years. Conservative failure culminated in a situation last summer where the Prisons Estate had fewer than 100 spaces left nationwide, leaving it on the brink of collapse. The new government has fast-tracked plans to build three new prisons, part of a broader programme to create 14,000 spaces by 2031. Without a functioning prison estate, the criminal justice system loses its primary deterrent. The situation we inherited last year was intolerable, and I'm pleased that the government is taking steps to address it.

Increasing prison capacity is, of course, just one part of the solution, and we need to be honest with ourselves about other societal issues which so often prompt people to engage in criminality. Across the week, a key point was the need for more youth provision in our area. Put simply, we need to create an environment in our town where young people have things to do, so they don’t end up engaging in ASB. Since I was first elected, it's been a key aim of mine to see the Summit Centre re-opened, and I've engaged in frequent discussions with the local Primary Care Network (PCN), North Yorkshire Council (who own the facility) and Mayor David Skaith to try and find a solution which allows it to reopen. The PCN do fantastic work across Selby, encouraging preventative healthcare and pro-actively reaching out to areas of higher deprivation. I want to see them continue to deliver their services with the PCN as part of Summit’s future, and have asked North Yorkshire Council to consider all options to give the venue the best chance of reopening soon.

Later in the week, I joined up with Stillingfleet Speed Watch to help with their excellent work at tackling speeding in the village. I am concerned that North Yorkshire Council seem to be dragging their heels at implementing common-sense 20mph limits outside local schools, and I want to see a joined-up effort from their Highways Directorate at dealing with road safety outside schools more generally. My approach on this is still that a single life lost on our roads is one too many, and I'm going to continue working with the Deputy Mayor and local Parish Councils to improve anti-speeding measures in our towns and villages.

I hope that this has been a useful update on my efforts to assist North Yorkshire Police as they seek to tackle crime locally. This week, the Chancellor has delivered the Comprehensive Spending Review, a line-by-line review of Government spending. If you have any questions about that or indeed any other issue, please don't hesitate to contact me on keir.mather.mp@parliament.uk