Anna Dixon MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 4 Nov 2025 · Regional Economic Growth: Pension Funds · Hansard source

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  Many of my constituents have assets in the West Yorkshire Pension Fund, which manages more than £19 million. I am concerned, however, that some of the fund’s investments are concentrated in sectors that cause harm, such as the fossil fuel industry. Does the Minister agree that the West Yorkshire Pension Fund could invest in socially valuable activities, such as the regeneration of the town centre in Shipley and social homes?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Regional Economic Growth: Pension Funds · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking with pension providers to help increase regional economic growth.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Drone Procurement · Hansard source

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  I am very proud that the Government have supported Ukraine through the provision of drones. I recently visited Radio Design, a company in Saltaire in my constituency that is at the cutting edge of radio frequency, which is essential for fighting the rapidly developing threat from drones. Can the Minister assure me that procurement processes are agile enough to allow innovative smaller businesses with specialist technologies in radio frequency, such as Radio Design, to access new defence contracts in order to help us deliver on the strategic defence review?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Property Service Charges · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Property Service Charges · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for explaining the problems so clearly, problems that are shared by my elderly residents in Aire Valley Court and Sutton Court in Bingley. They too have seen above-inflation rises in service charges and a lack of transparency about accounts, with no evidence to justify them. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is now time that we bring in licensing and stronger regulation of managing agents such as FirstPort?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Ageing and End-of-life Care · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this debate, and I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Member’s Financial Interests. I am an officer of the all-party groups on carers, and on housing and care for older people, and I was formerly chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better. As ageing is a subject close to my heart, I decided to check out my latest personal life expectancy projection according to the Office for National Statistics life expectancy calculator, and it turned out that I have a one in four chance of living to 95. Many people would think, “Oh, how fantastic!” Yes, we all want to live longer, but not everybody will enjoy that same life expectancy. We know that there is a significant gap—about 19 years—in life expectancy between the most and the least deprived. That gap is reflected across the country, as well as in my own constituency, between Wharfedale and Windhill and Wrose. Despite the tech bros trying to defy ageing and death through all sorts of techniques, in reality we are mortal and we will all face death at some point. More of us will die at older ages because of increased life expectancy. To be honest with hon. Members, death is a boom industry, and if they have not already invested in a funeral director, that might be something to look at. The post-war baby boomers are now in their 60s, 70s and heading into their 80s, so more of us will be dying in the coming decades. Society needs to change in a number of ways to respond to our ageing society. Departments across Government are looking at related issues, including working for longer, which is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions, and ensuring that we build new homes that are accessible. I will be speaking to the Minister for Housing and Planning, who summed up in the previous debate, about bringing in new regulations to make homes more accessible. In addition, we need to reform end-of-life care. By 2050, it is projected that an additional 147,000 people will die per year, bringing the total to 745,000 per year. As the hon. Member for Strangford said, the people who miss out on end of life care are more likely to be older, from black and minority ethnic communities, from lower socioeconomic communities or to have a non-cancer diagnosis. There is a lot to do to close the gap in access to palliative and end-of-life care, particularly for older people. An example of really good practice in Bradford is the REACT model—the Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team model. If you have not already visited, Madam Deputy Speaker, you may wish to do so. It is a partnership between the Marie Curie hospice and Bradford Royal infirmary. A palliative care doctor is embedded in A&E, so when people who are at the end of life are hitting the accident and emergency department, they get an intervention, assessment and referral back to a proactive multidisciplinary community-based team. The results are staggering in reducing the number of hospital bed days that people at end of life experience. As we have heard, most people do not want to die in hospital. I commend the shift that this Government are looking to make from hospital to community, which I hope is as true around end-of-life care as around other services. However, there is a huge lack of consistency between integrated care boards in how and what they commission. There is much to do to support better care in the community, including providing better support to GPs, particularly those with a specialist interest in end-of-life care; having district nurses working more closely with primary care teams and embedded within the new neighbourhood health teams; more examples of hospice at home and multidisciplinary community teams; more training for care home managers and staff; and the innovative use of unused hospital wards to provide hospice services in hospital, where appropriate. As has been mentioned, we must ensure that there is a 24/7 hotline for patients and, importantly, for their carers, so that when they find themselves in crisis at home, they can get access to the advice that they need. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has said they should have had access to such advice since 2011, but according to Marie Curie, only one in three areas has such a 24/7 hotline. While there are examples of good practice, there is much to do. It is good news that more of us are living longer, but society has to adapt. I am pleased that we are doing things as a Government—we have a pensions commission and the Casey review looking at social care—but I say to the Minister: now is the time to have a national strategy for palliative and end-of-life care. We are an ageing society and we need that, along with reform of continuing healthcare. In his response, I hope he will set out how we ensure that everybody dies well in old age and has a good death.

• 30 Oct 2025 · Ageing and End-of-life Care · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Member rightly says, ICBs are under a legal duty to commission palliative care services. Does he not recognise that the problems we are having, not just with hospice care but with the lack of availability of palliative and end-of-life care, often come down to poor commissioning—ICBs failing to commission in line with that statutory guidance—and the confusion that arises between charitable donations and that which should be commissioned by the NHS?

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is making a passionate and principled speech about punishment, but we are dealing here with practicalities. The Public Accounts Committee, of which I am a member, has looked at the prison estate capacity. There was a pledge under the previous Government for 20,000 additional prison places; just 6,518 of those were actually built. If the right hon. Gentleman were to pursue this line of saying that everybody needs to have a punishment without rehabilitation, I do not understand where, in practical terms, he is going to put people.

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  No, I have not just walked in. This is the third speech I have listened to.

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  A lot of drug users are repeat offenders, as my hon. Friend was saying about those with a gambling addiction. Does she agree that a shift to community provision might enable people to get the rehabilitation they need for their addiction, whether it be drugs, alcohol or gambling?

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s clarification that charities would still be able to provide these placements. I have a fantastic charity in my constituency, upCYCLE, which teaches bike maintenance skills to help rehabilitate people. Currently, that is done in prisons, but when there are more community sentences, that sort of charity will want to give people skills and meaningful work in the community. I just want to clarify that this is not about excluding charities.

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  Referring to my earlier comments, the data show that one in four prisoners are drug users and have a drug and alcohol problem, and they constitute many of the reoffenders. Given that data, does the right hon. Member not agree with me that we should be rehabilitating and medically treating those addictions, so that they are not caught up in the criminal justice system?

• 21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a very strong argument, drawing parallels between gambling addiction and drug and alcohol abuse. Earlier this year, as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I questioned Government officials about the endemic use of drugs in prisons. The Carol Black report looked at this back in 2020—

• 14 Oct 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Over the summer, I was the subject of two online death threats, which the police are investigating. These were posted in response to a video published by the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore). The video accused me of not telling the truth on a very sensitive subject: the horrific abuse of children by grooming gangs. If the hon. Member had made those remarks in Parliament, they would have been deemed unparliamentary. As well as the death threats, that video elicited a torrent of misogynistic, racist and offensive comments, which remain online. As Members of this House, it is incumbent on us to do all we can to prevent the escalation of abuse. The actions of the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley were at best irresponsible, and at worst inflammatory. I call on him to apologise, to withdraw the video, and to commit to refrain from personal attacks against me and other elected officials in future. Online abuse has a psychological impact on all of us who are subject to it—on our staff, our families and our friends. It has a chilling effect on democracy, stifling debate, putting good people off standing for election and creating a climate of hate. Therefore, I also hope that the Committee on Standards will review the code of conduct, to ensure that the same standards expected of Members in this place are upheld in their words and behaviours outside this place, particularly online.

• 14 Oct 2025 · Energy Infrastructure Applications: Land Use Changes · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for that answer. In my constituency, several planning applications are pending, and one has already been granted in the villages of Wilsden and Cullingworth for battery storage and onshore wind in the wider area. Can the Minister explain how constituents with clean energy infrastructure in their area can benefit from both cheaper bills and community funding?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am no expert on mental health law, but I do have decades of experience in the health and care sector, and my sister is a psychiatrist. I know that the decision to detain someone with severe mental illness is never taken lightly, and that psychiatrists must weigh up a range of factors and information to come to a final decision. I tabled amendments 43, 44 and 45 and new clause 34 after a number of conversations with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which has expressed concern about the wording used in the detention criteria. Taken together, the purpose of my amendments is to ensure that the detention criteria are aligned with good clinical practice. It is important that they are reflected in the primary legislation, rather than simply relying on a code of practice. They would remove from the detention criteria mention of the terms “likelihood” or “may be caused” to allow psychiatrists to make a straightforward, holistic assessment of individual risk in the context of significant mental disorder. The risk is that “likelihood” suggests that it is possible for clinicians to predict serious harms such as violence or suicide when it is not possible to do so, while the idea of causation neglects the fact that complex background conditions can be the genesis of a harm. There is a risk, too, that the language may lead to preventive detention—more detention, not less. It is always easier with hindsight, when unexpected harms have happened, to oversimplify causation and ask, “Why was this person not detained?

• 13 Oct 2025 · New Housing Developments: Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  New housing developments agreed under the previous Government have been built on the green belt around villages in the Shipley constituency, such as Burley in Wharfedale, Wilsden, Denholme and Cullingworth, often without the vital investment in infrastructure such as GP practices, schools and other council services. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that as we build the much-needed affordable and social homes, we will prioritise brownfield and ensure adequate investment in the community?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  I was pleased to see today’s report. I believe it has a picture of the Bingley five rise locks in my constituency on the front cover, so I thank the Minister for that. The creaking and leaking water infrastructure, the current drought restrictions and the dumping of sewage in our rivers, including the Aire and the Wharfe, are evidence of a failing industry and of the failures of previous Tory Water Ministers, one of whom is sitting on the Opposition Front Bench. I welcome today’s report and also give credit to campaign groups like the Ilkley Clean River Group and the people’s water commission. It is right that the Secretary of State has said that he will abolish Ofwat and strengthen oversight and regulation, but Yorkshire Water has a labyrinth of holding companies that have built up debt, taken out dividends and interest payments, put up customer bills and failed to invest in upgrades. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is time for radical action, not only to merge the regulators but to restructure failing companies like Yorkshire Water?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Freedom of Religion or Belief: UK Foreign Policy · Hansard source

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  Earlier this week, I spoke to Aid to the Church in Need, particularly about the situation for Christians in Syria. Hon. Members are obviously well aware of the recent suicide bombing of the St Elias Orthodox church in Damascus, and Christian communities are still facing persecution, including with destructive fires. Does the hon. Member agree that the situation is grave in many parts of the world, including Syria?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is setting out, in a very eloquent way, the amazing work of the Labour Government. I am proud—I hope he agrees—of the previous Labour Government’s achievements in setting up and rolling out Sure Start. Independent research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed what amazing outcomes children had later in life, with higher GCSE scores, reduced hospital admissions, improved physical health, the early identification of special needs, maternal employment and better mental health outcomes. I hope we will see the same from the new Best Start family hubs, too.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I want to make some progress. There have been recent innovations in further education with the introduction of T-levels. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I contributed to the inquiry that found that T-levels are a great option for many students, and it would be great to see them rolled out further, but that there are significant teething problems. T-level students attend three full days at college and, generally, two full days in placement. It is, in my view, far more demanding than three A-levels. However, finding suitable work placements can be challenging. While colleges welcome the greater flexibility that is given in where and how these requirements are fulfilled, there is a clear need for employers to be incentivised to offer such work placements to students. Teacher shortages are also a huge problem for colleges, particularly when trying to attract people from the high-priority skill sectors that we have mentioned, such as digital and construction. The Public Accounts Committee also looked at teacher numbers and concluded that further education teacher shortages put the achievement of the Government’s missions for opportunity and growth at risk.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point—I was about to come on to the pay gap between teachers in schools and those in further education colleges. Teachers in further education colleges earn an average of £8,000 a year less than schoolteachers. I was not aware of the gap with higher education, but it is clearly important that there is a level playing field so that they can attract and retain teachers.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I agree that we must open up access to education for all, including carers. Further education colleges require significant investment to upgrade and maintain their buildings and ensure that they can provide a modern learning environment and access to up-to-date technology. However, staff tell me that their ambitions for further capital investment are limited. Since colleges were brought back into public ownership, their ability to borrow money and invest in capital projects has been removed, and they must now seek permission from the Department for Education to borrow money, which is a slow process. I would appreciate the Minister outlining what the Government are doing to address the capital funding needs of further education colleges. I would like to move on to some issues around skills training. Every year, 3.8 million people aged 19 and over access skills education in England. That is a critical part of our education system, enabling people to build rewarding careers and fulfil their dreams. Yet, across the country, businesses do not have the right skills available to deliver the services they want and we need. According to the Learning and Work Institute, the UK could face a £120 billion loss by 2030, with a projected shortfall of 2.5 million highly skilled workers. In Saltaire in my constituency, businesses tell me that they are struggling to recruit people with digital and tech skills locally. Is that any wonder when the Conservatives cut FE funding so significantly? With the right support, FE colleges can drive productivity gains across key sectors, such as engineering, healthcare, digital technology and construction. They can supply skilled technicians and specialists, enabling businesses to expand, innovate and compete.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I agree. Closing the gap in pay will be vital, particularly if we look at vocational areas where industry salaries are higher. In construction, engineering and digital, FE teachers earn around 11% less on average than their peers who work in industry. Even when colleges do manage to recruit, they are quickly enticed back to industry, so it is not enough to just ask employers to release their staff to support the teaching of these in-demand skills. How does the Government intend to address the teacher shortages in further education, attract people and offer incentives for businesses to release people? The final point I will touch on is social mobility.