Charlie Dewhirst MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jun 2025 · Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. It is important that everybody works together, whether that means the pressure groups, the farmers or the Government. Sometimes, the two extremes of the debate need to understand each other. These things often seem simpler than they are. We do things on a farm for good reason, and often it might be for better welfare when people might not perceive it in that way. Another great example of the overall perception of pig farming is outdoor versus indoor, whereas indoor is far better for the environment. There is a big problem with the environmental impact of outdoor pig farming, which is often forgotten because we talk about welfare, and welfare clashes with environmental impact. That all comes together and means that we have to make balanced decisions about how we support farmers across the country. To conclude, we need to make sure that we bring the farming community along with us in this conversation, whether it is about pigs, poultry or anything else that we are discussing. Let us not do stuff to them, but work with them. Let us work out a plan that ensures that we can achieve what we want to in terms of better animal welfare, but not at the expense of British farming, British food security and British jobs and without ending up replacing our own great British produce with imports produced to lower standards than we would expect.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  2. What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for SEND.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Child Rape Gangs · Hansard source

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  I am concerned that some of the people involved in local authority inquiries could be the very same individuals who have covered up these heinous crimes for years. Why is the Minister so unwilling to seek justice for the victims of these child rape gangs through a national statutory inquiry?

• 23 Apr 2025 · Hospitals · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that the new hospital programme is just one part of the jigsaw and that facilities such as Bridlington district hospital and Alfred Bean hospital in Driffield in my constituency are much under-utilised resources? We should be making the most of every NHS facility by bringing community services back into those places.

• 22 Apr 2025 · Residential Estate Management Companies · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I commend the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing and leading this important debate. Many Members are aware of the efforts to change the law and raise the profile of the fleecehold campaign by the Home Owners Rights Network. HORNET has revealed that 960 sites across the UK are affected by this practice, with a staggering 213,000 homeowners affected. I want to touch on the fantastic local work being done in my constituency of Bridlington and The Wolds. I pay particular tribute to the great work being carried out by the Wolds View action group, which is based on the Bellway estate in Driffield in my constituency, led by Dr Jenny Shaw and the residents of the Wolds View estate. Another affected development, the Mortimer Park estate, which is also in Driffield and was developed by Barratt Homes, consists of 165 properties, with another 120 being built. Those are just two local examples I am aware of, but there are others in my constituency in Market Weighton, Hornsea and Bridlington. To echo the stories we have heard in this debate, many residents feel that they were not told adequately at the time of purchase about what was to come in terms of estate management. Many feel they face the double whammy of estate management costs and their council tax payments. Further to what the Minister has set out in the House in recent months, I urge him to adopt the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2024 recommendations as a matter of urgency to ensure common adoptable standards, and to mandate the adoption of public amenities on new housing estates. However, we must not leave existing homeowners in limbo. Residents such as my constituents at Wolds View and Mortimer Park deserve equal protection. I would appreciate the Minister clarifying in his closing remarks what specific protections will be extended to the 200,000 homeowners currently affected. Let us be clear: they are freehold residents who own their own homes. The language used by the Government when discussing this issue has been, on occasion, particularly disappointing, and needs to be clearer when separating the issues of freehold and leasehold. My constituents are not leaseholders in this instance, and it would reassure them if the Minister would outline how the Government intend to address this specific area. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise these concerns on behalf of my constituents. It is not a local problem; it is a national issue that needs swift and decisive action from this Government.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Pubs: Non-domestic Rates · Hansard source

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  The highest pub in the Yorkshire wolds, the Wolds Inn at Huggate, is a great success story—Mr Speaker, I would be delighted to buy you a pint there the next time you find yourself on the right side of the Pennines—but, like many pubs in my constituency, it faces a crippling rise in non-domestic rates at a time when margins are very tight. Local pubs are not just businesses but much-loved community assets, so will the Minister reverse this tax grab and start supporting the great British local?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Six Nations Rugby Championship: Viewing Access · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is important that we get the timings of the games and everything else right so that we optimise the broadcast number. As we have seen with various experiments in recent years, whether games take place on Friday nights or Sunday afternoons, rather than the traditional Saturday afternoon, also has a bearing. That all needs to be taken into account, as I am sure it will be as the negotiations progress in the coming months. As has been mentioned, the tournament attracts about 120 million viewers—a clear demonstration of its popularity. The Six Nations matches involving the home countries should be moved from group B to group A to ensure that this much-loved tournament continues to have the broadest possible reach. That is vital for the health of the game, from elite level down to the grassroots. Watching our international teams through free-to-air coverage of the Six Nations is often the only exposure fans will have to professional rugby. For many of us across the UK, the opportunity to watch elite club rugby in person is a postcode lottery. My own constituency of Bridlington and The Wolds in East Yorkshire is equidistant from three of the closest English premiership teams: Leicester, Newcastle and Sale. Anyone with the vaguest grasp of geography will know that none of those is remotely close to where I live. In my part of the world, the grassroots game is therefore the bedrock of local rugby. Clubs such as Bridlington, Driffield, Hornsea and Pocklington do an incredible job of introducing hundreds of boys and girls to the sport every year, ensuring the continued strength of the amateur game. To take one example, Driffield fields six senior teams—four men’s teams and two ladies’ teams—and has minis and juniors at every age group from under-sixes to under-16s. Those are the epitome of community sports clubs, but many of those kids gave rugby a go only because they wanted to be the next Marcus Smith, Finn Russell or Liam Williams. I suggest that watching the Six Nations, and being inspired by it, is a huge part of the pathway to taking up the sport. My final point is less about sport and more about our United Kingdom and our friends in Ireland, France and Italy. No other tournament pits England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales against each other, every year, in such a high-profile event. All of us love to use the games to bring up old rivalries and have a cheap dig at our neighbours. However, it is an occasion that shows that there is so much more that unites us than divides us.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Agricultural Property Relief · Hansard source

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  It is starting to feel a bit like groundhog day, because the Government are clearly not listening to the entire agricultural economy, community or experts. Let us go back to the beginning and have a brief history lesson. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) just mentioned that the Government said prior to the election that they had no intention of changing APR. At the Budget, the Chancellor told us that this was a measure to prevent very wealthy individuals from buying up agricultural land to avoid inheritance tax. That was proven by analysis of the policy to be untrue, so there was a pivot and we were told that the measure was about raising revenue for public services in rural areas. Then the OBR said, “Well, actually, it’s not going to raise the revenue it says it’s going to raise,” so the whole thing has unravelled week after week. We have heard from other hon. Members today about the issue of the APR analysis not taking into account the BPR effect, and what that does for tenant farmers and farmers who have used BPR as one vehicle to wrap everything into in the event of a death. We have farmers, agricultural organisations, supermarkets, tax experts—even The Observer this weekend—coming out against the policy. It is truly remarkable that the Government have managed to unite all those people against one single measure. Today, quite significantly, we had analysis from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. That is important, because the AHDB is a non-departmental Government body, not a lobbying organisation. Its analysis, using data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the farm business survey and the Scottish Government, says that over 75% of farms will be affected by this measure—three times the amount that the flawed Treasury modelling said. Most of those farms simply cannot afford a large inheritance tax bill because, as we all know, they do not have the income to pay it. The result will be the sale of land upon death, most likely to the wealthy individuals or businesses that this very policy was allegedly meant to deter. In turn, that will take land out of production, risking both our food security and local agricultural economies. My hon. Friend the Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) made a really important point about the impact on construction firms, feed merchants, hauliers, plumbers, electricians—all those who rely on a healthy farming sector. The Government have ploughed on, with their head in the sand, but at what cost? There is a political cost —the decimation of Labour’s reputation in the countryside —but, more importantly, there is a human cost. This measure has placed enormous stress on family farms and, unforgivably, we have heard stories of suicide. If the Chancellor can look again at non-doms, she can look again at this policy. If the Treasury is seeking to deter the wealthy from buying agricultural land, let us look at this again. If it is seeking to raise revenue, let us look at this again. The farmers are not going to back down, and we are not going to back down, so let us do the right thing, get round the table and find a better way forward.

• 6 Jan 2025 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister join me in congratulating East Riding of Yorkshire council on achieving the armed forces covenant employer recognition scheme gold award, and pay tribute to both the council leader Anne Handley and our armed forces champion Councillor Liam Dealtry for their roles in achieving that? Could he also tell the House what he is doing to encourage more organisations to achieve this highest standard in veterans’ support?

• 11 Dec 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  On SEND funding, the East Riding of Yorkshire is the lowest funded local authority for SEND per pupil. Children in the Prime Minister’s constituency get three times more funding than children in mine, which is a travesty in itself. This policy will put even more strain on my local authority and the children who desperately need support from it.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Budget: Implications for Farming Communities · Hansard source

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  The Minister implied earlier that farmers in my constituency of Bridlington and The Wolds support this measure. I can categorically tell him that they do not; they are shattered by this announcement. The impact on my community will be devastating. I ask the Minister today to do the right thing and withdraw these plans.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Health Services: Bridlington · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this important subject. I thank the Minister for being here this evening, and I thank everyone I spoke to before the debate, particularly the Bridlington health forum and representatives of local NHS trusts and the integrated care board. Bridlington is not alone in needing improved access to health services, but I will seek to explain today why that has become an extremely acute problem in the town. Constituents of mine living in and around Driffield, Hornsea, Market Weighton and the remote Wolds villages will have valid concerns about their own public services, but I hope they will forgive me for taking this opportunity to speak in depth about Bridlington and why it is in so much need of extra support. I will describe the demographic backdrop against which these issues have arisen, the challenges over supply of services, and, lastly, the need for a robust strategy to tackle the various problems faced by local people in the town. Bridlington is a fantastic coastal resort on the edge of the rolling hills of the Wolds, and it welcomes millions of visitors every year. It is world famous for its seabird colony, and is the lobster capital of Europe. However, like many seaside towns it has significant challenges, and the demographic data is stark. It has the oldest and most deprived population in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and men living in the Bridlington South ward have a life expectancy 10 years lower than those living elsewhere in the county. Indeed, data shows that two of the three wards covering the town are the two most deprived in the county, and the other is the fifth highest of a total of 26. The age profile is equally stark. One third of the population are over 65, and that rises to 44% of residents in Bridlington North, where a significant number are over 80. Bridlington has the highest percentage of people with limiting long-term illness or disability in the York and Scarborough NHS Trust catchment area, and Bridlington residents have the highest levels of health inequality in that catchment. The director of public health for East Riding of Yorkshire county council has said of the town: “we have found that the inequalities are growing, they’re large and they’re serious. In terms of length of life, quality of life and the amount of people with long term health conditions, Bridlington has got the worst levels in all of the East Riding…So this is a wake up call to do something about it.” I certainly cannot disagree with that sentiment. As for the supply of health services, the House will no doubt be shocked to hear that there are entire classrooms of children in Bridlington who have never seen a dentist. One patient needing emergency dental work was sent more than 60 miles to Doncaster, and in January there were 8,500 people on the waiting list for the only local NHS dentist. Many people have been forced to go private, but that is not a solution affordable to most. Will the Minister agree to look again at NHS dental contracts, so that they incentivise dentists to open practices in areas where there is such a clear and obvious shortage? Access to primary care has seen some recent improvements, but the consolidation of GP practices from six to two has not been without its problems. Local patients still find it challenging to secure appointments at one of the two practices, but I know that GPs operating across the town have worked tirelessly to improve services in the wake of the pandemic and the shortage of local healthcare professionals. The direction of travel for secondary care, however, is not positive. Bridlington is blessed with a fantastic hospital site, which opened in 1989. It recently enjoyed an investment of £4.7 million in 1,500 solar panels, making it one of the greenest NHS sites in the country. However, the site is chronically underused. I am not suggesting for a second that the Bridlington hospital site could be a major trauma centre or large infirmary, but it can and should be a vital community asset for health. It has the potential to be a health hub for the town, bringing together a wide array of local health services. York and Scarborough NHS trust might not be the owner of the site, but it is the provider of secondary care there. Many people in the town feel that its focus, which is naturally leaning towards North Yorkshire and not East Yorkshire, means that investment and new services are being prioritised in York, Scarborough and Malton. Out-patient appointments are a particularly key metric, as they make up a large bulk of the interactions between the NHS and older people in Bridlington. The number of out-patient appointments at Bridlington hospital that are offered to residents in Bridlington, Driffield and the surrounding area has reduced from 46,500 in 2019-20 to just over 27,500 in 2023-24—a reduction of more than 35% in just four years. Ophthalmology appointments are down, audiology appointments are down and rheumatology appointments are down. Instead of recognising that an ageing population will result in greater demand for out-patient services locally, we are seeing these services being provided at sites away from the town.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Health Services: Bridlington · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his contribution. I will come to that point shortly. East Riding patients travelled an astonishing 2.7 million NHS miles to attend out-patient appointments in 2023-24, and two thirds of Bridlington residents attend out-patient appointments away from the town. That is not acceptable, and I will not stand by and let it continue. However, part of the problem is that local Members of Parliament have very little, if any, direct influence over the direction of our health services, which is why I am appealing to the Minister for his support. I believe that this is particularly timely. In his recent report, Lord Darzi described the NHS as “broken”, and in the case of Bridlington he is correct. He states that: “An ageing population is the most significant driver of increased healthcare needs since it is associated with the development of long-term conditions” and that “by the time people are aged 65-74, a majority will have at least one long-term condition and some 40 per cent will have two or more. By the time people are aged 75-84, this rises to nearly 60 per cent having two or more, and by the time people are aged 85 or above, 9 out of 10 will have at least one long-term condition.” I remind the House that one third of residents in Bridlington are over 65. Lord Darzi makes the following very pertinent observation: “At the highest level, the NHS has had the strategic intention to shift spending from reactive care in hospitals to more proactive care in the community setting—but care has in fact moved in the other direction.” That is very much the experience of my constituents. The report also makes it clear that “care should be more joined up, or more ‘integrated’…to reflect the fact the people living with long-term conditions” need more support and “a variety of different physical and mental health professionals and often rely on social care too. The frequency of their interactions with the health service means that their care is more complex and therefore requires coordination.” Finally on this point, Lord Darzi is right to say that “care should be delivered in the community, closer to where people live and work”, and that “hospitals should be reserved for specialist care. This is more convenient for patients—especially for those with long-term conditions who will need contact with the NHS more frequently.” I would also like to refer the House to the chief medical officer’s 2021 annual report on health in coastal communities. In this insightful piece of work, Sir Chris Whitty noted: “Given the known high rates of preventable illness in these areas, the lack of available data on the health of coastal communities has been striking whilst researching the report. Coastal communities have been long overlooked with limited research on their health and wellbeing. The focus has tended towards inner city or rural areas with too little attention given to the nation’s periphery.” He went on to add: “Data is rarely published at a geographical level granular enough to capture coastal outcomes, with most data only available at local authority or Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level. As a result, deprivation and ill health at the coast is hidden by relative affluence just inland which is lumped together.” In conclusion, he recommended: “Given the health and wellbeing challenges of coastal communities have more in common with one another than inland neighbours, there should be a national strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of coastal communities.” Unfortunately, and perhaps as a result of the health service working its way through the impact of the pandemic, the report has been somewhat sidelined and the recommendations have yet to be acted upon, so what should be the solution? We need a comprehensive strategy, bringing together all parts of the health service, that recognises the challenges and put together an immediate action plan. The Humber and North Yorkshire integrated care board is trying to address these issues, but I am concerned about exactly what its role is, or should be. Some ICBs interpret their population health duties as requiring them to act upstream of healthcare needs on the social determinants of health, where the NHS has few direct levers. Other ICBs interpret their duties as requiring them to understand and adjust healthcare services to match the needs of the population that they serve, in line with the NHS operating framework. Some interpret them as both and others as neither, preferring to focus on what they see as their traditional role of performance managing providers. Ultimately, their roles and responsibilities need to be clarified so that they can be better held to account. This is not a criticism of the performance of my local ICB, which is working hard to tackle the challenges, but I think we would all benefit from greater clarity of purpose. In conclusion, we cannot escape what is in front of us. As one senior local authority figure commented to me: “The health crisis in Bridlington is not a car crash waiting to happen, it is happening right now.” My appeal to the Minister today is simple. I have no doubt that he has the very best of intentions when it comes to improving the nation’s health, but realistically many of those ambitions will take decades. If he wants to make a real difference today, will he please focus some of his Department’s collective effort on tackling the enormous health inequalities in seaside towns such as Bridlington, and will he please take the recommendations of Lord Darzi and Sir Chris Whitty and apply them to our town? We are happy to be his pilot scheme or his trailblazer. I know that with the right energy and direction, we will not be left with a generation of children who have never seen a dentist and we will not have elderly people travelling long distances for regular routine appointments. Instead, we will have a health service to be proud of and a happier and healthier local population. I implore the Minister and his Department to work with me to ensure a better future for the brilliant people of Bridlington.