Quality of place is absolutely essential in ensuring people have pride in the place that they live, and I would agree with the Member that it does need to be improved in terms of not just trunk road verges, but streets in general and town centres. Many local authorities are having difficulty with an increase, in some parts, of littering and anti-social behaviour. But the key, the long-term key, to improving our built environment is in ensuring that people change their behaviours, and we are trying to do just that. Indeed, right from primary school upwards, with the introduction of the new curriculum, we hope that people will become more responsible and respectful adults and stop littering.

I find it particularly frustrating in my constituency, where there is a well-known fast food outlet on the side of one of our trunk roads. We often see considerable litter being dropped, but I have to say that that particular outlet is very responsible in actually paying for, and often organising, litter-picking sessions. Of course, they can’t go on the trunk road, but in the surrounding areas. And I would like to see more corporate responsibility of that nature right across our towns and cities and, indeed, along roadways, where there is currently a problem with littering, particularly with fast food.