Lee Dillon MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 4 Feb 2025 · Social Security Benefits · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech about those most in need of benefits and the difference they can make. He spoke about the WASPI women and about children in poverty, but does he agree that veterans could also be helped out more by the DWP, such as by the Government backing the Royal British Legion “Credit their Service” campaign to change legislation so that military compensation is not classed as income when calculating means-tested benefits? Does my hon. Gentleman agree that that group would benefit from such a change?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Gaza: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  In following your request for brevity, Madam Deputy Speaker, may I ask the Minister when is the correct time to recognise Palestine as a state?

• 24 Jan 2025 · Gambling Act 2005 (Monetary Limits for Lotteries) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend talks about the financial pressures that charities face. Volunteer Centre West Berkshire has said that charities in West Berkshire will need to find an additional £383,000 next year just to stand still, because of the increase to the minimum wage and national insurance contributions. With the Government causing charities concern through national insurance, does she agree that her Bill would allow them to ameliorate some of that harm?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Public Services Reform · Hansard source

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  The reform of public services and the reliance on artificial intelligence to deliver that led the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to pilot the Microsoft Copilot program. That pilot ended after six months, yet it demonstrated transformative improvements in departmental efficiency and was particularly beneficial for disabled and neurodivergent staff. Will the Minister confirm whether funding for that tool, which has been suspended until 2026, could be released so that staff could benefit from its application?

• 20 Jan 2025 · New Hospital Programme Review · Hansard source

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  In a few weeks’ time, I will celebrate my 42nd birthday. I was born at the Royal Berkshire hospital in Newbury, and given the Secretary of State’s announcement today, I will be celebrating my 60th birthday when the new hospital is due to open. Will the Secretary of State talk us through how operational budgets will be increased at hospitals such as the Royal Berkshire, which currently has a backlog of repairs of over £200 million that could stop operations and procedures happening? How will the Government ensure that money is in place while we wait 14 years for our new hospital?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Will the Government look at redefining affordable housing in national policy so that it is pegged to average local income rather than at the whim of an overheated housing market?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Obesity: Food and Diet · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on securing this debate. I thank him for raising interesting aspects of which I was not aware, such as the 13 cancers. I also thank the right hon. Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke) for sharing his personal journey with us in this Chamber. It was a worthwhile contribution to this debate. In 2023, nearly 32% of children in year 6 in West Berkshire were classified as overweight, an increase of 3% on the year before. This is not an isolated trend: obesity rates among children and adults are rising across the country. The doubling of obesity rates in the UK over the past 30 years has been driven by multiple factors, of which changes in diet are one of the most significant. In that time, the UK’s food environment has also undergone a dramatic shift. Today, 25% of all food outlets are fast food establishments offering meals that are higher in sugar and fat but more affordable than healthy alternatives. Their affordability makes them increasingly attractive, particularly to those who are under financial pressure. With the rising cost of living, especially with energy bills, many households are left with less disposable income, and food budgets are one of the first areas in which people try to cut costs. Over the past three years, the price of healthy food has increased by £1.76 per 1,000 kilocalories, compared with just 76p for less healthy options. The impact of these changing diets is having severe consequences on people’s health and is placing immense pressure on the NHS. Obesity increases the risk of developing various diseases, including certain cancers such as colon cancer. It raises by more than two and a half times the likelihood of high blood pressure, which greatly increases the risk of heart disease. According to Frontier Economics, obesity costs the NHS £35 billion every year. That is simply unacceptable. The UK should be among the healthiest countries in the world. We have a rich tradition of grassroots sports, high-quality food production and world-leading medical research, yet our statistics tell a different story. The UK currently has the third highest rate of overweight or obese individuals in Europe. The Government must take decisive action to address this growing crisis. The Liberal Democrats have called for a reversal of the Conservatives’ cuts to the public health grants that enable local authorities to deliver the essential preventive services and community programmes that combat obesity and promote healthier diets. We also urge the Government to expand the national food strategy, not only to address food security, but to tackle rising food prices, end food poverty and improve public health and nutrition. It is vital that we halt this alarming trend of rising obesity. People deserve the opportunity to live healthier, longer lives. Reducing obesity will also have a transformative impact on the NHS, easing the immense pressure that it is facing. I implore the Government to take bold action and urgent steps to ensure that healthier food options are more accessible and to foster a culture of healthy activity across our nation.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister update the House on the capacity in his Department to manage these reorganisations? He spoke about the deadline having passed, and having received expressions of interest. How many can his Department manage at any one time? What will be the determining factor in which ones are chosen to progress now?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is talking about second homes, which can particularly affect rural communities. Schedule 1 provides mandatory grounds to recover possession in order to house an agricultural worker, but does he agree that the definition of “agricultural worker” is limited and does not reflect rural workers—for example, those who work in the horse training industry in the village of Lambourn in my constituency, where local housing is key to that industry given the nature and the hours of the work of stable staff?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) for securing the debate. A reference was made to the unintended consequences of the Government’s decision, but actually they are not unintended consequences; there was a dereliction of duty because the Government did not do the impact assessments that they should have done to understand what they would do to our charity sector. I recently visited West Berkshire Mencap in my constituency of Newbury. As a result of the financial pressures, the organisation will need to find an additional £163,000 to cover national insurance contributions, and its agency costs are projected to rise by approximately 12%. I also recently met Rachel Peters, the chief executive of Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, which last year provided advice and support to 403 individuals on volunteering. She expressed grave concern about the impact that the changes will have in Newbury, with staffing costs alone projected to rise by 18%. Overall within the charities that she represents, an additional £387,000 will need to be found in the next financial year, with hardly any time to plan.