Anna Dixon MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  My constituency of Shipley is not short of sporting talent. Baildon Fisical Sports Coaching Academy’s under-eights team has just won the national junior premier league final for the second consecutive season. I pay tribute to the Bumble Bees Barbarians, the first mixed-ability contact rugby union team in England, which plays at the Bradford and Bingley sports club. Following the Government’s welcome announcement of a £100 million investment in grassroots sports, will the Minister assure me that inclusive grassroots sport will receive funding to continue that great work?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Relationship Education in Schools · Hansard source

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  Did my hon. Friend hear Gareth Southgate talking in the Richard Dimbleby lecture about the fact that boys need positive male role models in the real world—people like football coaches, scout leaders, youth club leaders and more male teachers? I wondered if my hon. Friend would agree that having real-world role models would help boys in the face of that tsunami of online abuse?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Relationship Education in Schools · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. I serve on the Public Accounts Committee, which looked at the NAO report on violence against women and girls. In West Yorkshire, the police have developed a brilliant prevention programme —the hon. Lady touched on the need for prevention—called Pol-Ed, which goes into schools and teaches young people, both boys and girls, about some of the danger signs around spiking and inappropriate imagery, as well as about consent. Does she agree that it is important to educate children, both on prevention—what the danger signs are and what an unhealthy relationship is—and on what a healthy relationship looks like?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Relationship Education in Schools · Hansard source

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  Parents of LGBTQ+ children are concerned that the 2024 guidance that the previous Government consulted on is providing a hostile environment and preventing conversations about trans and non-binary children from happening. Would the Minister would consider reverting to the 2023 guidance?

• 31 Mar 2025 · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Hansard source

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  I volunteered with the OSCE to ensure free and fair elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996, following the Dayton peace agreement. I therefore have huge concerns about the escalating tensions. I welcome the diplomatic efforts we are undertaking to support stability, on which the Minister has updated us, but can he confirm that he is working closely with European civil society partners such as the OSCE to secure peace and stable democracy in the region?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Promoting Active Travel · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking to promote active travel.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Promoting Active Travel · Hansard source

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  Increasing active travel by 50% in England would result in 1.8 million fewer GP visits and 4 million fewer sick days. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment, reiterated by the Minister, to build 300 miles of new cycle lanes and walkways. Will the Minister meet me and the Friends of Wharfedale Greenway to see how we can secure investment to open up this amazing active travel corridor in Wharfedale and boost the health of my constituents?

• 25 Mar 2025 · Construction Standards: New Build Homes · Hansard source

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  Talking about future-proofing our homes, a key things we could do with an ageing population is to ensure that all new homes are built to higher accessibility and adaptability standards. The previous Government consulted on that, but never implemented anything. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that was a lost opportunity? By not implementing M4(2) standards, many new homes have been built that do not meet those higher standards.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q14. One in five disabled people in social housing, and one in three disabled private renters, live in inaccessible housing. One of my constituents with severe fibromyalgia and post-traumatic stress disorder lives in a first-floor flat with no lift access. As we build the 1.5 million new homes that the country needs, will the Prime Minister ensure that they are built to be accessible and adaptable so that disabled and older people can live independently for generations to come?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for reassuring my constituents with profound disabilities that they will be protected under these reforms. My niece, who herself has autism and has faced significant barriers to work, is a health coach in a local jobcentre, where she is helping other people with disabilities, neurodiversity issues and mental illnesses to find work. However, she is frustrated by her lack of access to fit notes. Will the Secretary of State ensure that jobcentre staff have the time, information and resources that they need to help people with disabilities and health problems to find suitable and rewarding jobs?

• 13 Mar 2025 · Mental Health Support: Educational Settings · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this Backbench Business debate. That statistic of one in five young people having a mental health condition must concern us all. I hear from my own constituents in Shipley that they are waiting a long time to get their children seen on the NHS—whether for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessment or to get medication—and during that time the children are unable to participate in school. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that children and young people get access to mental health support and that we get waiting times down so that they can participate properly in school?

• 13 Mar 2025 · Mental Health Support: Educational Settings · Hansard source

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  I totally agree with my hon. Friend that schools and teachers are at the forefront of the mental health crisis facing our children. I recently visited a local primary school, Burley and Woodhead Church of England primary, and I pay tribute to the staff there for the excellent work they do to support the young people with their mental health and to make it much easier for them to talk about it. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that schools have adequate resources to provide such support?

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Very briefly, I am delighted that the Government are strengthening statutory sick pay. During covid, many care workers were forced to go into work—at their own risk, and risking those they were caring for—because they were not eligible for statutory sick pay, so strengthening it is an excellent move. In conclusion, this Bill, together with the proposed Government amendments and some of those suggested by my hon. Friends, will ensure that the 1.5 million people working in adult social care can get fair pay, guaranteed hours, statutory sick pay and day one rights. It is good for workers, and it is good for women.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman may know that I am the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers. We are very pleased that there are now unpaid leave requirements for carers; on other occasions, I have urged the Government to look into going further with paid entitlements for carers. There is a real opportunity to enable the 3 million carers in paid employment to remain in employment and to stop the loss of an estimated 600 people per day who leave work due to their caring responsibilities. While that is not part of this Bill, hopefully the Government and the Minister will respond to that. That is the first area of the Bill that I really welcome. The second, which has huge benefit for care workers, is its provisions on pay and conditions through pay agreements. I echo some of the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher), who is no longer in his place, about the huge benefits that these will bring to so many of our valued adult social care staff. The establishment of the new Fair Work Agency will ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules, and strengthening powers to deal with modern slavery and labour abuse will further extend protections to care workers. Many care workers have come to this country on overseas visas and, having paid extortionate fees in their country of origin, have found themselves tied into accommodation here, on zero-hours contracts and being exploited by the care companies. As such, the provisions in the Bill are very welcome. We know that too many care workers live in poverty; research by the Health Foundation suggests that one in five care workers cannot afford the essentials, either for themselves or for their children. I am proud to be sitting on the Labour Benches as we bring forward fair pay agreements, along with the abolition of exploitative zero-hours contracts, which will finally provide security for our valued social care workers. In implementing these changes, it is really important that we establish a framework to help home care workers in particular—some of whom I met recently—who are not paid for their travel time or their sleep-in hours, despite the fact that such practices should be illegal. As we take forward the fair pay agreement in adult social care, I urge the Minister to work with colleagues to ensure it is accompanied by an ethical charter for care providers to sign up to. This Government have already shown how serious they are about valuing those who do so much to care for, and provide support to, disabled adults and older people in this country. The third area I want to mention, which other colleagues have talked about and which my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) has addressed in his new clause 102— [ Interruption. ] Madam Deputy Speaker, I keep looking at the clock. I believe there is an issue; would you please advise me on my remaining time?

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and I am a proud member of Community. It is an honour to speak as this landmark Bill hopefully passes its next stage, finally bringing to an end an era of insecurity and low pay under the Conservative party. This landmark Bill brings in day one rights for workers, a fair pay agreement for social care workers and greater entitlement to statutory sick pay. My speech will focus on and highlight the way in which the Bill and some of its amendments strengthen the rights of care workers and carers, the majority of whom are women. We have heard already in this debate many proposals from hon. Members on the Government Benches to go further than the excellent proposals before us to strengthen day one rights for employees. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) spoke movingly about pregnancy loss and bereavement, and, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), talked about the need for stronger entitlements to parental leave. All of that will have a really positive impact, particularly on women. I draw attention particularly to the day one right that strengthens flexible working by default. I invite the Minister to consider giving guidance to employers that they should require flexible working to be advertised. The Fawcett Society has made a particularly strong case for the importance of that for women, and I know that that is also true for carers. If, before applying for a job, they do not know that they can secure that flexibility, many will not even apply. Some 40% of women who are not currently working said that if flexible work was available to them, it would enable them to do paid work, so we are missing out on huge potential for businesses. The Fawcett Society survey in 2023 said that 77% of women agreed that they would be more likely to apply for a job that advertises flexible working options, while 30% had had to turn down a job offer when employers were unable to offer the flexible working that they needed. While the Bill makes excellent provisions, I urge the Minister to respond on how we can implement that in practice, so that carers and particularly women can have the confidence to apply for jobs and know that they can have those flexible working requirements.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 10 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

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  Antisocial behaviour is breaking communities in places like Windhill, Baildon, Cottingley and Denholme. It is a direct result of the cuts made to neighbourhood policing by the Conservative party. When I speak to local residents, they express concerns about the misuse of fireworks, drug dealing, fly-tipping and the dangerous use of e-bikes and scooters. Will the Secretary of State reassure me and my residents that as part of the safer streets mission, the new neighbourhood police will tackle antisocial behaviour in communities like mine, as a matter of urgency?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. It is always a pleasure to serve with her on the Public Accounts Committee under the leadership of the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown). She makes an excellent point about the raising of capital budgets. In my constituency, we have the RAAC-infested Airedale hospital. Does she agree that it is only with the new Labour Government and a properly funded and deliverable plan for new hospitals that we will see that put right, following the decision made by the Chancellor to ringfence capital funding?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  On that point, will my hon. Friend give way?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister to her place and congratulate her on her new role. On building a national care service and the Casey review, will she reassure me and other Members of the House that there will be a first-phase report in 2026 to inform the spending review, and that we will have action sooner than the 2028 final report?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Market Towns: Cultural Heritage · Hansard source

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  In our market square in Bingley, we have Bingley arts centre and, next to it, Bingley town hall, which is ripe for redevelopment. The community would love to make it into a creative arts centre. Will my hon. Friend ensure that I and members of the local community can meet the relevant Minister to see what opportunities there are to access the huge amount of funding that Ministers have announced for arts and culture?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Market Towns: Cultural Heritage · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Gentleman that market towns are a crucial part of our culture, not only here in England but in Northern Ireland, too. In my constituency, King John granted Bingley’s first market charter back in 1212 and the Bingley butter cross still stands to this day. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that thriving market towns are as vital to the future of our economy as they were to the past?

• 27 Feb 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  7. What steps her Department has taken to help support creative industries in Bradford.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her earlier response. This year, Bradford is the UK city of culture. This is a fantastic opportunity to show off the creative talent of our wider district, including the Shipley constituency, and it could be the springboard for unleashing the economic potential of our city and area, which for too long has been unrecognised. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the Government will help to secure the legacy of Bradford 2025 and support our creative industries to fuel economic growth?