James Wild MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Apr 2025 · School Costs and Employer’s National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  8. What estimate she has made of the potential impact of increases in employer’s national insurance contributions on the number of teachers employed in schools.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Civil Service Reform · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman talks a good game about scrapping quangos and I support the review he announced to reduce the size of the bureaucratic state. Why then, despite the rhetoric, are the Government at the same time creating dozens of new quangos?

• 23 Apr 2025 · Hospitals · Hansard source

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  My local hospital, the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn, is one of the seven RAAC hospitals. I have campaigned for a new hospital since I was first elected in 2019. The QEH has had the dubious honour of being the most propped hospital in the country. Today, steel and timber supports hold up the roof to keep the hospital safe. Staff and patients should not have to put up with that. Initially, QEH was not part of the new hospital programme, but through campaigning in Parliament and strong local support, it was added to the scheme as a priority by the last Conservative Government—part of a fully funded scheme that is being funded in the same way as this programme: through future spending reviews. After the election, this Government’s review of the new hospital programme cast doubt on our new hospital, but I am glad that, after pressure, RAAC schemes were removed from that review and restored as the priorities they should be. That was warmly welcomed by patients, staff and my constituents. The clock is ticking, however, and the Government’s decision to delay the timetable for a new hospital opening from 2030 to 2032-33 is unwelcome and, I would argue, unnecessary. It also means spending money propping up the roof, wasting millions of pounds that could be spent getting on with the new scheme. The trust has well-developed plans and an experienced team in place. The Health Secretary has said that if we can go faster than the 2027-28 start date for construction, he will pursue that. When I went with the Minister to the hospital trust, she repeated that commitment, which I welcomed. There are concerns that the NHS England reorganisation could cause issues with approvals, but the Health Secretary told me in the House that we would use it to take an axe to the multi-layered approvals process. I am not sure that he has swung it yet, but I hope he does, because the savings in business cases, consultant costs, other costs and time are considerable. There has been much talk across the House of the need for action. I was at QEH last week with the chief executive. My ask is that the business case for the multi-storey car park is approved as rapidly as possible, so that work can start next year at the latest. That is the key enabling scheme to free up the existing car park so that we can get on and build the new QEH. The recent confirmation of the available funding was welcome and I thank the Minister—it will be a major investment in my constituency. Let us now get on with the new QEH that the staff, patients and the community it serves across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire deserve.

• 22 Apr 2025 · Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill · Hansard source

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  I think the Lord Chancellor just said that the approach to the guidelines taken by the Sentencing Council puts the foundation of the justice system at risk. Given that, how can she have confidence in a Sentencing Council that takes such an approach?

• 22 Apr 2025 · Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right; the issue is not just these guidelines. In the last Parliament, we legislated to increase the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving to life imprisonment, after an offender killed three members of my constituent’s family and was given a sentence of only 10 and a half years. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need a broader power, so that where Parliament’s intent is not recognised by the Sentencing Council, we can act?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Lowest Incomes: Support · Hansard source

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  Businesses have just been hit by the Chancellor’s £25 billion jobs tax, which will cost working families £3,500; also, business rates are nearly doubling for hospitality and retail businesses. How does imposing taxes that the Office for Budget Responsibility says will result in lower wages, higher prices and fewer jobs help growth and those on the lowest incomes, and will the Chancellor keep her promise not to come back with more taxes in this Parliament?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Sentencing Council Guidelines · Hansard source

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  Why does the Lord Chancellor propose to take only a very narrow power in respect of the two-tier pre-sentencing reports rather than a general power, given that other guidelines and draft guidelines, including for immigration offences, are far below the levels agreed to by this Parliament? The Sentencing Council is ignoring policy determined by this House. What more evidence does she need to act, and to act now?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Hughes Report: First Anniversary · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I thank the hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for securing this important debate. Like other hon. Members, I also have constituents who have suffered from the scandal. Colleen and her husband, Andy, are in the Public Gallery today. They first contacted me about their son, Byron, in February 2024. Colleen has epilepsy and, like so many others, was prescribed valproate. Throughout IVF and her pregnancy, Colleen and Andy were not warned of the potentially harmful side effects of remaining on the medication, despite repeatedly being asked what medication they were on. We know that valproate use in pregnancy leads to neurodevelopmental disorders in 30% to 40% of cases. Colleen and Andy have told me about Byron, about what a lovely person he is, and particularly about his love for “Star Wars”. He has autism, learning disabilities, and speech and language development issues, but he is happy at school. Sadly, we know that this is not an isolated incident, and that around 20,000 children have been harmed. Parents like Colleen and Andy deserve redress, but they have had to fight to get the support for Byron. They went to a tribunal to get assistance with his education, and they are still battling to get an updated diagnosis to ensure that he gets support as he moves into adulthood. Following the Cumberlege review, my former colleague Maria Caulfield commissioned a report from Dr Hughes. That report was published a year ago, setting out the options for financial redress, with an interim and a main scheme. The interim scheme was meant to be up and running, with compensation payments being made this year. The main scheme was to follow with more bespoke support, based on assessment of individual circumstances. We need to get on with it. My right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) talked about the experience of other inquiries and redress schemes, and we need to use that to get this scheme up and running. I regret that the previous Government did not solve the issue before the election, but what happens now is what is important, and that is the priority. When I asked Colleen and Andy what they wanted to hear from the Minister, they said that they wanted a commitment to getting the scheme up and running, and a timeframe for the Government to deliver the interim compensation, and then the final compensation, as well as an apology from all those who are responsible for the scandal. It is seven years since the Cumberlege review began, but people have been fighting for justice for much longer. Colleen and Andy, and thousands of parents like them, need progress and redress so that they can be confident about their children’s future. I know that the Minister is relatively new in post, but I hope she will be able to give those families some of that assurance today.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  When the Roads Minister came to Norfolk recently, she was reported to have cast doubt over the approval of the A10 West Winch housing access road, which is essential to unlock thousands of homes and economic growth. Without the road, the homes will not be built. Given the Government’s commitment to house building, will the Transport Secretary reaffirm her support for this long-standing road scheme?

• 25 Mar 2025 · Access to NHS Dental Services · Hansard source

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  There is an urgent need for dental training in Norfolk, so can the Minister confirm that the Government will enable the Office for Students to allocate new dental training places in the east of England to start in 2026?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Crown Prosecution Service: Ensuring Effective Functioning of the Courts · Hansard source

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  Justice delayed is justice denied. Will the Solicitor General confirm that the court backlog is rising rather than falling, and can she explain why the Lord Chancellor has not maximised the number of sitting days so that victims of rape and other serious crimes do not have to wait unduly for their cases to be heard?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Crown Prosecution Service: Ensuring Effective Functioning of the Courts · Hansard source

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  9. What steps she is taking with the Crown Prosecution Service to help ensure the effective functioning of the courts.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 19 Mar 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  During the general election campaign, we on the Conservative side had the triple lock-plus policy to prevent pensioners in receipt of just a state pension from paying income tax. Does the Minister recognise that millions of pensioners in that position will have to start paying income tax, and is he happy with that?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Electricity Grid Decarbonisation · Hansard source

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  Once again the Minister has failed to answer the question about the cost estimate, but we do know that the Government’s dogma-driven 2030 target will drive up costs and that we will see pylons and substations imposed in Walpole in my constituency and across the country against the wishes of local people. That will damage our countryside and it relies on Chinese supply chains, which the Energy Secretary visited only over the weekend. When will the Government realise that their approach of ruling out underground options and attempting to buy off local communities on the cheap, rather than listening to them, will only drive opposition to their plans?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Electricity Grid Decarbonisation · Hansard source

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  7. What recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of decarbonising the electricity grid by 2030.

• 13 Mar 2025 · NHS England Update · Hansard source

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  My constituents are particularly concerned about the very bureaucratic approvals process for the new hospitals programme—through investment committees, then the regional NHSE team, the a department, then NHS capital assurance, then a joint investment committee, then the Treasury and then, finally, Ministers. Can the Secretary of State guarantee that this decision, which I welcome, will speed up that process, and that the business case for the multi-storey car park at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn will be approved so that work starts this year?

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I am simply pointing to the words of the chief executive of Currys, which employs thousands of people across the country. I am not here to tell employers what form of contracts to offer their staff, and I am not sure that it is the hon. Lady’s job to do so either. However, the Bill will certainly remove flexibility. The Government are doubling down by extending that requirement to agency workers. Flexible contracts, which are valued by staff—we have heard from other Conservative Members about their benefits—will be undermined by the Bill. A flexible labour market is an important part of securing a growing economy. The previous Government managed to achieve that while also extending employment rights. As the Federation of Small Businesses and organisations that provide millions of jobs have warned, the clear danger of the Bill is that it will make it harder to employ people by increasing risks and costs. Rather than striking the balance that the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith), spoke about, the Government have produced measures that, when taken together—and on top of the Chancellor’s tax-raising Budget and the near doubling of business rates for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses—create a significant cost and regulatory risk. That is why we oppose the Bill and the Government’s action to hike taxes and increase regulation that will make us less competitive.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to all the Members who served on the Bill Committee for its 21 sessions. Their job was made harder by the fact that this was rushed legislation brought forward purely to spare the blushes of the Deputy Prime Minister, who made promises to the trade union barons who fund her party. As a result, we see the large number of amendments that we are discussing today. It is also the case that while the Government have consulted during the passage of the Bill, they do not appear to have listened to employers very much. Hon. Members should beware the unintended consequences of these measures and the Bill.

• 11 Mar 2025 · North Sea Vessel Collision · Hansard source

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  My constituency has the Norfolk coast area of outstanding natural beauty and other vital habitats, including the Wash, as well as a fishing fleet. Given the location of the collision, there is local concern about the potential impact. When will a risk assessment be done on the potential risk of pollution down the east coast to Norfolk? What action is being taken to contain it? Will the Minister commit to keeping the public informed?

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  I have to say that it is very curious that we know that this letter exists—it has been confirmed in the other place that it exists—and yet the Government repeatedly refuse to publish it, despite the potential impact that political interference with the governance of sport could have. Why does the Minister not just ask UEFA for permission to publish the letter and give it to Members?

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) on securing the debate. I declare an interest: I am a Norwich City fan and a King’s Lynn Town supporter. The premier league is the most viewed league in the world and supports 90,000 jobs across the country, and league one is also very popular, so football is a success. I want to focus on the governance proposals, particularly in the Football Governance Bill. All fans would sign up to the key objectives of ensuring financial sustainability, preventing breakaway competitions and protecting heritage, but my concerns are about possible over-regulation and overreach. I welcome the amendments that have been tabled in the other place to introduce a growth duty into the Bill, which the Government previously resisted. Of course, the provisions on revenues attract the most attention. Let us be clear that the proposal is for the Government to take the power to mandate how to divide the proceeds of football. Currently, there is a voluntary distribution of the revenues through the football pyramid, and that is essential to the health of the game. We are seeing the impact of the proposals: the EFL is refusing to negotiate with the Premier League and has said that it is waiting for the backstop powers to come into force. The Government have made the proposals even worse by including parachute payments in the backstop. That is a complete mistake, because clubs such as Norwich need the certainty of parachute payments to invest so that they can compete in the league. That would ensure we have a competitive league that generates income. The EFL will not engage with the 3UP national league campaign, because it is waiting for the backstop before making a view on whether to get one more promotion from the national league.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Days · Hansard source

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  Despite this announcement, the backlog will increase. When cases do go to court, it is important that offenders serve the sentence they are given. Following the Lord Chancellor’s trip to Texas, where some prisoners serve as little as 25% of their sentence, will she rule out adopting such a soft sentencing policy?