Anna Dixon MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for making that point. It is important that the general funding available in education for those taking on disadvantaged students is reflected in things such as the pupil premium. FE certainly plays a huge role in widening participation of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as by offering flexible schedules, part-time study and tailored support services that lower barriers to education. For many, further education represents the most affordable and practical route to upskilling and career advancement, or progression to university. College students are more likely to be from diverse ethnic backgrounds and to have special educational needs and disabilities. Colleges are already supporting both the most deprived learners and those from most deprived areas. For example, 30% of college enrolments are students from the most deprived postcodes. Sadly, in 2023 only 39% of those who finished level 3 courses at FE colleges, which are equivalent to A-levels, went on to higher education. The equivalent rate in state school sixth forms was as high as 60%, so it is critical that the Government increase opportunities for those in further education and open up degree-level apprenticeships. I would appreciate it if the Minister outlined the Government’s plans to support new routes for disadvantaged children to go into higher skilled work and the role of further education colleges in helping to achieve that ambition. I will conclude in a moment, but I believe that further education colleges are a vital part of the UK’s educational landscape.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  Indeed, and I note that FE colleges, on average, have a higher number of SEND pupils than others. They give really good opportunities for children with additional needs to thrive and to go on and educate, so I commend the work of her local college.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to hear that the Labour Government have secured the future of Harrogate college. I also agree that it is vital that, as the workplace changes, people keep their skills up to date with lifelong learning, so it is essential that we protect and maintain adult education funding. I would like to hear from the Minister on that. Will she outline the Government’s plans to ensure sustainable funding for FE colleges, as well as the ongoing support for adult education as mentioned?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I am certainly happy to commend the leader of my hon. Friend’s local IOT. I recognise the contribution that IOTs make to training the next generation in all sorts of careers; they prepare them for the demands of some highly skilled roles in defence. FE colleges are not just about supporting our young people; they also give older adults opportunities to gain skills and retrain to access and retain good work. It will be vital, for example, to upskill and retrain people transitioning into jobs in the clean energy sector. I was disappointed to learn of the cuts to the adult skills fund, and a number of constituents wrote to me about it. I understand that the public purse is under huge strain and there are many competing demands, but further education colleges provide an excellent education, and given the real-terms funding reductions that they have experienced over two decades under the Conservatives, I do hope that in future they will receive more sustained, multi-year funding that accounts for inflation and rising student numbers.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for being such a champion for Bolsover and wanting to secure opportunities for her constituents to get the education that they deserve. I am sure that the Minister heard her words. By improving education across the board, including further education, we can increase social mobility and address the stark regional disparities across the UK. Social mobility is a core Labour value.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  Absolutely; it is vital that we get more capital as well as more revenue funding into FE.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a great champion for her area and for rural communities. I agree that there are particular challenges for colleges seeking to deliver such a breadth of education and many different sorts of qualifications, and I know that the Government are looking at review and reform of that. Let me turn to T-levels.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree that the FE college apprenticeships—these other routes—are important for disadvantaged children. I will expand on that in a moment. I am delighted that this Labour Government are committed to equipping the workforce with the skills they need to rebuild Britain, including through the establishment of Skills England. I hope that Skills England will encourage and facilitate strong partnerships between colleges and employers. Perhaps the Minister might like to say whether we could go further in empowering local areas and colleges to tailor their provision to local labour market needs and community demands.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent intervention, pointing out some of the cuts that her constituents are experiencing at the hands of the SNP Government in Scotland. It is incumbent on them to ensure that all children and adults have the opportunities to learn and continue to update their skills. In conclusion, I believe that further education colleges are vital to those skills; they provide vocational training, apprenticeships and essential skills for young people and adults who want to upskill and reskill. They play a crucial role in addressing skills gaps, boosting productivity and promoting social mobility. However, as we have heard, the sector is facing significant challenges, including real-terms funding cuts, workforce shortages and complex funding structures. In her response, can the Minister set out how this Labour Government are increasing both day-to-day funding and capital funding for further education? How do they plan to address teacher shortages in FE? How are they ensuring that those in further education have the same opportunities to progress?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I will take the intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) first.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for further education institutions. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. Up and down the country, further education institutions are educating and training 1.6 million people, providing them with the skills they need. These colleges are the lifeblood of the British economy, serving as a vital bridge between compulsory schooling and higher education and employment. However, further education was cut to the bone under the previous Conservative Government, and colleges are crying out for more support. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, spending on adult skills and apprenticeships was 23% lower in 2024-25 than it was back in 2009-10. That is a huge cause for concern. Many of us in this room have seen the great work that these colleges do at first hand, and I am sure we will hear that from colleagues during the debate. I pay tribute to Shipley college in my constituency, and I hope to draw attention to some of the challenges that it and others face, as well as their tremendous contributions. Shipley college is the local lead on health training, and has built a strong relationship with Bradford Royal Infirmary. They have developed a T-level cadetship programme, giving local 16 to 17-year-olds invaluable experience on hospital wards. I recently visited Shipley college and met students and staff who were training on life-like robots with AI-generated voices to mimic a conversation with a patient. That was clearly giving the students confidence, and preparing them much better than traditional teaching methods. Government funding has enabled the college to invest in such amazing resources as Gaumard human simulators, Anatomage tables for learning anatomy and physiology, and an immersive classroom where students get to prepare to deliver skills in a real-life situation.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  I will give way first to the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello).

• 15 Jul 2025 · Welfare Spending · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that disabled people have been written off by the Conservatives for too long? They have not been given opportunities to access work and good jobs, and they have been blamed by the Conservatives, for the sake of cheap headlines. Does he also agree that the Labour Government’s proposed transformation of jobcentres, which is already under way and will involve retraining dedicated work coaches, will help people to access the good jobs that he talks about?

• 10 Jul 2025 · Resident Doctors: Industrial Action · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on showing great leadership when he came into office to get those doctors back to work and end the strikes. The result of that has been falling waiting times and waiting lists, and I have seen the benefit of that for my constituents in Shipley; they are not having to wait for operations and diagnostic tests in the NHS. Does he agree that this is no time for strike action, and that, should the BMA and the resident doctors go ahead with this strike, this will adversely affect patients and waiting times?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for her excellent speeches, both today and on Second Reading, and for all the work I know she has done behind the scenes to get us to where we are today. I fully support her new clause 11, which would guarantee meaningful engagement with disabled people before any changes are made to PIP. As she knows, PIP is also a gateway benefit to carer’s allowance, so does she agree that it is essential to include carers, as well as disabled people, in the disability co-production taskforce?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I am sure that the hon. Lady is familiar with the terms of reference for the Timms review, which clearly set out that its purpose is to ensure that PIP assessment is “fair and fit for the future…and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.” I hope that she will agree that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability is very well placed to lead the review in co-production with disabled people.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the concessions that the Government have brought forward and the amendments that are before us today ensure that we are getting it the right way around? It is explicit in the terms of reference that the changes are about a fair and fit-for-the-future assessment, rather than to generate further savings, so does he agree that the Bill allows us to get the Timms review done and to bring forward proposals after that?

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend, his team and the amazing NHS staff on over-delivering on Labour’s promises, and for this amazing, ambitious 10-year plan that will ensure the NHS is fit for the future. I particularly welcome the “My Carer” feature on the NHS app that will allow family and unpaid carers to communicate with the care team for a loved one. Will my right hon. Friend explain how this plan will deliver benefits for disabled people and their carers?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Access to Live Events · Hansard source

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  7. What steps she is taking to help ensure that disabled people have equal access to live events.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Access to Live Events · Hansard source

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  In my Shipley constituency, the highly valued Bingley arts centre has made great strides in improving accessibility for disabled people. However, with 78% of arts centres behind schedule on essential building maintenance, it is clear that more investment is needed. I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of the All In fund; can she assure me that local theatres such as Bingley arts centre will benefit from that investment to help them continue to make the arts inclusive?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Bumble Bees rugby union football club, based at the Bradford and Bingley sports club in my constituency, is England’s first mixed ability contact rugby union. It was founded in 2009 by a determined young man with cerebral palsy and learning difficulties. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Bumble Bees following their bronze cup win at the international mixed ability rugby tournament in Spain last month? They played six games in just five days in temperatures of up to 35°. Will she also join me in congratulating Tessa Lightowler, who carried the GB flag at the open Europe Down’s syndrome championship in Prague this week and will be competing in the shotput competition? Perhaps we could make time for a debate to celebrate the contribution of disabled and learning disabled athletes.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her remarks. Does she agree that, as well as having meaningful engagement with disabled people themselves and disabled groups, it is really important that the Timms review engages with unpaid family carers, both because they are caring for people with disability and because they are implicated through carer’s allowance being linked to PIP?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and I am pleased that he could hear my desire to intervene. Does he share my concern that the Timms review is too slow and will not conclude under its current timetable until next autumn? Does he agree that the Timms review should be accelerated so that a package of measures that have been co-produced with disabled people and their carers, including young people, can be implemented in November 2026?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member talks about fairness and trust. I wonder if he is proud of his Government’s record, where Tory cuts to welfare pushed more people into poverty, with 2.9 million emergency food parcels in the last 12 months. If he votes against the Bill, he will be voting against the biggest uplift in the UC standard allowance. Is he proud of that?