Sarah Dyke MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  One fifth of the UK population live in rural areas. They face unavoidable additional costs, including longer travel times, reduced provider competition and workforce recruitment. Those costs have an impact on every single aspect of local service delivery, but funding formulas fail to adequately recognise rurality, putting additional pressure on the vital services that residents in Glastonbury and Somerton rely on. Does the Minister accept that additional cost pressures are linked to geography and sparsity, and will she outline what steps are being taken to support large rural councils such as Somerset to manage these funding gaps?

• 17 Dec 2025 · UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Mandatory method of production labelling on animal-derived products could improve animal welfare and increase UK farm profits by over £46 million annually, but we must make sure that the UK-EU SPS agreement is aligned on standards and quality so that British farmers in Glastonbury and Somerton and across the country are not undercut by lower welfare imports. Can the Minister outline what progress has been made on negotiating a comprehensive SPS agreement?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Women Veterans · Hansard source

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  Recent media reports highlight the full extent of abuse that women have suffered in the armed forces, highlighting why the recommendations from the Atherton report must be urgently implemented in full. What steps is the Minister taking to remove the barriers to create an environment within our armed forces where women feel protected, valued and given the opportunity to excel and flourish?

• 11 Dec 2025 · Hospitality Sector: Glastonbury and Somerton · Hansard source

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  Earlier this week I met children from Ilchester community primary school. Maeve, who is in year 6, told me her No. 1 concern is the pressure on local businesses. Glastonbury and Somerton has many wonderful hotels and restaurants, like the Hollies in Bower Hinton, but many will face an average rates increase of 76% from April without transitional support. What action is the Minister taking to prevent a crisis in the hospitality sector and ensure that businesses like the Hollies can thrive?

• 11 Dec 2025 · Hospitality Sector: Glastonbury and Somerton · Hansard source

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  12. What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector in Glastonbury and Somerton constituency.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, I hosted a mulled cider event with the National Association of Cider Makers. Cider makers in Glastonbury and Somerton are increasingly focused on survival, as uncertainty grows around future inheritance tax relief. Cider making is uniquely capital-intensive and requires special equipment for milling cider apples, so many family cider businesses exceed the £1 million threshold. Will the Leader of the House bring a little festive cheer to my cider makers in Glastonbury and Somerton, and advise me on how I might meet the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss the impact of changes to agricultural property relief on cider makers?

• 11 Dec 2025 · National Plan to End Homelessness · Hansard source

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  Glastonbury has the highest density of van dwellers in the UK, with around 300 people living in caravans. While some do choose this as a way of life, many are vulnerable or simply cannot afford to pay rent. They deserve a proper roof over their heads, as many of these caravans are simply not fit for accommodation. What considerations has the Minister made in this strategy to support those being exploited by unscrupulous van lords in this unregulated market? Will she meet me to discuss this ongoing crisis?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. In the 1800s, Britain’s railways unlocked growth and opportunity across the country. A huge network grew, until the Beeching cuts closed roughly a third of it in the 1960s. As a result, many rural communities lost their rail links, forcing reliance on buses and private cars and creating transport deserts. My constituency is home to only two railway stations: Templecombe in the south and Castle Cary in the east. That means that many towns and villages are left unconnected to the two railway lines that run through the constituency. Langport had two railway stations, while Somerton had its own station until the Beeching cuts, but like many rural towns they have simply lost connectivity. Glastonbury and Street, the two largest towns in the constituency, are both completely unconnected to the railway. There is not even a direct or integrated bus service available from Glastonbury to connect to the railway station.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is absolutely essential that there are lifts at train stations to provide that step-free access for people with mobility issues, pushchairs or luggage. Indeed, Castle Cary station is the official station of the Glastonbury festival, so people might also be carrying camping gear, tents, or wet weather gear—plenty of it, usually. The Railways Bill must not just manage decline; it must also restore connectivity and patronage. That means auditing underserved communities and delivering integrated rail and public transport links where they have been lost. The Langport Transport Group has run a campaign to bring a railway station back to the area, and put a strategic business outline case to the Government in February 2022. That was met with Tory inaction for nearly three years, and then sadly, the Restoring Your Railway fund was dropped by this Government. The fund needed improving, not removing. The Government have claimed that GBR will be “responsive to both national and local ambitions”, while the long-term rail strategy lists “reducing regional and national inequality” as one of its priorities. However, more than half of small towns in the south-west are now transport deserts, and research by the Campaign for Better Transport shows that in Somerset, 14 out of 23 towns no longer have adequate public transport. More and more planning applications are being approved in south Somerset, so it is essential that GBR can expand the rail network to accommodate future growth and ensure that rural communities are not left behind. I am pleased that Liberal Democrat-run Somerset council has committed to developing further plans to make the case for a new station in the Somerton and Langport area, as well as improving access and integration with the existing network. However, the long-term rail strategy could include a network expansion plan that covers an increased extent of the network, and new and upgraded stations should align with local transport and growth plans. I also believe that the long-term rail strategy should focus on how to boost access to railway stations when local people cannot access them in their own town. The Government pledged to release their integrated national transport strategy this year, but there is still no sight of it. There is therefore an opportunity to link the strategy with GBR to deliver truly integrated and accessible transport for people in rural areas, because rural areas should not be excluded from this opportunity any more—there is absolutely no reason why they should be. I also wanted to touch on soil moisture deficit, which has been a huge problem on some of the tracks in the west this year, but I will leave that for another time. I will wait to see how this legislation will deliver for my constituents in Glastonbury and Somerton, who have been left unconnected for far too long by an unreliable and infrequent service. I also look forward to scrutinising the Bill as it progresses through the House—I am determined to ensure it delivers for my constituents.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve on this Committee with you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s desire to make manufacturing and packaging more sustainable, to minimise waste and to create the foundations for a truly circular economy. As a party, we recognise that the previous system was not fit for purpose following the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry, and we supported the Committee’s recommendations to incentivise better recyclability and transparency of products to help the transition to a circular economy. I am fortunate to represent a constituency with a thriving food and drink sector, but as producers are facing substantial added costs, they need to be properly supported, not punished, during the transition to a more circular economy. Although we wholly support the Government’s intention to tackle waste by improving recycling processes, we remain unconvinced that the introduction of EPR in its current form will achieve the desired goals. By creating a system that will impose unaffordable added costs on producers, the Government run the risk of forcing them to use cheaper and less recyclable materials, or else jeopardising the viability of key local businesses that are driving growth, which is something the Government should be committed to protecting.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  The Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to consider exempting pubs from the EPR, and to review the scheme’s scope and timeline to stop further damage to the hospitality sector, which we all know is already struggling. Will she commit to monitoring that progress as the scheme is rolled out so that pubs and the hospitality sector are not hit further?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Post-16 Skills Education · Hansard source

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  As was identified in the national food strategy, there is a shortage of skills in food and farming. The Liberal Democrats are proposing a “Farm First” scheme to give young people training and the incentive they need to choose a career in farming. Will the Minister outline the steps the Government are taking to create pathways to increase the number of post-16 learners who undertake training in food and farming?

• 4 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, in my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on women in defence, and alongside Angela Owen OBE, who founded Women in Defence UK in 2011, I was pleased to chair a briefing to discuss the publication of this year’s Women in Defence charter data report. The report shows that women account for roughly 25% of the total defence workforce, but for only 21% of directors and 23% of board-level positions. If the Government are serious about building a defence sector that lives up to its promises of equality and inclusion, will the Leader of the House advise me on how I might meet the relevant Minister to discuss the progression of more women into leadership roles in defence?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Angiolini Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I associate myself with the comments from across the House today. My thoughts are with Sarah Everard’s family and all those whose lives have been impacted by violence against women and girls. The landmark 2019 study into rural domestic violence found that abuse in rural areas lasts longer, is more complex and is harder to tackle, while the policing response in those areas is largely inadequate. Years later, the figures do not suggest any significant improvement in outcomes for victims and survivors in rural areas. At a time when stresses faced by farmers could see victims left trapped in isolated rural communities, how will the refreshed violence against women and girls strategy improve outcomes for victims in rural areas?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  On neighbourhood health plans, St Dunstan’s House health and wellbeing centre and West Mendip primary care network are seeking to put together a preventive approach to crime, social and mental health issues in the Glastonbury area. Does my hon. Friend agree that this innovative, community-based project should be included in the second wave of neighbourhood health scheme applications?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  4. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of US foreign policy on Ukraine.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  Since 2022, 1,600 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Somerset away from Putin’s war machine, many making Glastonbury and Somerton their home. The US-led peace negotiations, dictated by Russia, risk excluding US security guarantees, leaving many Ukrainians in fear of returning to Ukraine. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with Cabinet colleagues on implementing a pathway to settled status, so that Ukrainians may have a permanent future in the UK?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts · Hansard source

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  At last year’s autumn Budget, the Chancellor claimed that 75% of farms would be unaffected by agricultural property relief and business property relief, a figure that has been widely disputed. This year there is yet more confusion over the figures, with the Chancellor implying that public finances were significantly worse than the OBR assessment suggested. After years of being ignored and taken for granted by the Conservatives, how can rural businesses have confidence in this Government’s economic strategy if key figures are inaccurate or misrepresented?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

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  Rural areas have deep pockets of deprivation, and nearly 18% of children in Glastonbury and Somerton live in poverty. How will the Minister ensure that the child poverty strategy sufficiently focuses on child poverty in rural areas?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) on securing this important and timely debate, and on her excellent speech. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s desire to make manufacturing and packaging more sustainable, minimise waste and create the foundations for a truly circular economy. Limiting the environmental damage caused by waste requires us to improve our recycling of packaging. However, progress on recycling has been much slower than it needs to be, making it even more vital that we prioritise rethinking how packaging is made and processed. The extended producer responsibility has the potential to be a key driver in securing a better circular solution for packaging waste. However, its implementation must support, rather than add additional burdens to, the producers expected to deliver it. Liberal Democrats have long been calling for a deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers as it would obviously improve recycling levels and environmental standards, yet the current approach to EPR raises significant unease about the unpredictability of escalating costs for producers. That will particularly impact the financial viability of many independent businesses across the country, putting their future viability at risk. As a party, we recognised that the previous system was not fit for purpose following the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry, and supported its recommendations to incentivise better recyclability and transparency of products to help the transition to a circular economy. The reform brought forward by DEFRA will alter the way that local authorities are required to manage household recycling. It is therefore important that local authorities’ role in the scheme is supported, as they are once again being asked to do more while receiving ever-decreasing levels of funding from central Government. With the EPR packaging payment scheme having started last month, the Government have estimated that the shift in cost from local authorities to producers will total over £1.2 billion in its first year. I welcome the Government’s commitment to reinvest that revenue to improve local recycling infrastructure during EPR’s first year. However, EPR currently lacks a mechanism to ringfence funds and ensure that they are all invested in that infrastructure. Despite PackUK having informed local authorities that they will receive lower payments for a failure to do so, there is great concern within industry that, in future, funds will be redirected to replace central Government spending, threatening the Government’s ultimate ambitions for EPR. Without a firm guarantee to ringfence a certain percentage of funds to be invested in local recycling services, Somerset council, where the Liberal Democrats are now clearing up the mess after 14 years of Conservative maladministration and which, like many local councils, is facing financial difficulty, will be unable to achieve its goal of increasing the county’s recycling rate to 60%. I am fortunate to represent a constituency with a thriving food and drink sector. Businesses in Glastonbury and Somerton contribute over £29 million annually to our rural economy, supporting 101 pubs and providing employment for over 1,200 constituents. However, the introduction of the EPR in its current form has the potential to erode the profit margins of those vital businesses, forcing them to raise their prices beyond the point their customers can afford, risking the viability of their businesses. Those concerns have been repeatedly echoed by local brewers and distillers such as Glastonbury Brewing Company and Somerset Spirit in Castle Cary, which, like many others, are having to grapple with serious financial pressures as a consequence of the Government’s increase in employer national insurance contributions and rising business rates, in addition to EPR. I remain concerned about the negative impact that the current approach to EPR will have on our hospitality sector, in particular our pubs. Glastonbury and Somerton, as I have just said, is home to a wide and thriving publican community. Those pubs are more than just businesses; they are important pillars of our towns and villages. They bring residents together, create jobs and drive rural growth. A leading example that springs to mind is Curry Mallet’s community pub, the Bell Inn, whose existence has always relied on the generosity of its local community. I pause here to congratulate the community group involved in reopening the Bayford Inn, formerly known as the Unicorn, as a community-run pub in Wincanton, and to wish it every success. The introduction of EPR may become, as UKHospitality has identified, “a margin killer” for the sector. DEFRA’s approach to EPR has been designed to make businesses responsible for the waste packaging that enters the household recycling stream, but in the case of pubs, their packaging and bottles never leave their premises and they are disposed of through private waste contracts. Consequently, pubs now face a double charge for packaging waste—once through their commercial waste disposal contracts and again through EPR charges having increased the cost of supplies from producers—because the current framework does not exempt non-household waste streams. That means that rural pubs, such as the Catash Inn in North Cadbury, now face being burdened with further charges of up to £2,000 a year because of EPR, adding to the crippling costs being levied against them. As a result, the Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to consider exempting pubs from EPR and allowing time to review the scheme’s scope and timeline. That would, I hope, avoid further damage to our already struggling hospitality sector. As I have mentioned many times in this place, the UK cider industry is one of our nation’s most distinctive and successful manufacturing sectors, rooted in our rural economy. In the south-west, the cider industry contributes more than £270 million a year to the regional economy, supports more than 5,700 jobs and sustains numerous family farms, with Somerset—of course—the historical and spiritual home of British cider making. My constituency is home to a number of excellent cider makers, including King Brain cider in Little Weston, Tricky Cider in Low Ham and Harry’s Cider in Long Sutton, in addition to wonderful orchardists such as Julian, Diana and Matilda Temperley of Burrow Hill cider farm, who have cultivated their orchards for many decades. Cider makers are generally pretty supportive of a greater circular economy. However, the charges that DEFRA confirmed in June of this year are a real threat to our cider producers, because glass packaging is charged at £192 per tonne, which is one of the most expensive rates in Europe. Given that context, small and independent cider makers are having to decide whether they can continue to use glass to package their produce in the future and keep their businesses viable at the same time. For cider makers in my constituency, that fee equates to about 5p for a 500 ml bottle of cider, and up to 12p for a 750 ml bottle. Although EPR is intended to promote sustainability, the way it has been implemented will have detrimental financial impacts on independent cider producers who use entirely recyclable packaging and, ironically, could result in them pivoting to use a less environmentally friendly material such as plastic, which has a lower fee, to avoid those exorbitant costs. The introduction of EPR in its current form, when combined with rising employment, energy and raw material costs, already eroding margins, and the forthcoming deposit return scheme, poses a significant threat to our cider industry’s future. Given its economic importance to Somerset, that will be a devastating financial blow for the many fantastic drink businesses in Glastonbury and Somerton. The Liberal Democrats have been consistent on this point: EPR’s fees and implementation must be both fair and sustainable. With producers facing substantial added costs, they need to be properly supported during the transition to a more circular economy, not punished. Yesterday’s Budget was a missed opportunity for the Government to demonstrate their support for our hospitality sector by cutting VAT, energy costs and employer national insurance contributions. The Chancellor decided to forgo further support and to levy additional taxation on our pubs, breweries and cider makers by bringing alcohol duty in line with inflation, putting more pubs and breweries at risk of closing their doors for the last time. We are wholly supportive of the Government’s intention to tackle waste by improving recycling processes, but we remain unconvinced that the introduction of the EPR in its current form will achieve the desired goals. By creating a system that will impose unaffordable added costs on producers, the Government run the risk of forcing them to use cheaper and less recyclable materials or else jeopardising the viability of key local businesses that are driving growth—something that the Government should be committed to protecting.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  I want to push the Minister on the plight of our struggling hospitality sector. I asked if she could consider exempting pubs from the EPR scheme at this stage to give a chance to review the scheme and help support our struggling hospitality sector.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last year, gig ticket scams cost music lovers over £1.6 million, as fans were exploited by greedy ticket touts. The money they paid for fake tickets often went on to fund serious organised crime groups. That makes people less willing to buy tickets for live events, which undermines that important industry, particularly in areas like Glastonbury and Somerton. May we have a debate in Government time on the ticket resale market and ticket scams?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. This morning, I met farmers on Whitehall and on Saturday I met farmers supplying milk to family-run Wyke Farms, which has been making traditional cheddar cheese near Bruton for 160 years. They all told me that the family farm tax, as it stands, will devastate their businesses. If the Prime Minister really wants growth, will he listen to farmers, industry, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and even his own MPs, and pause and rethink this damaging and regressive tax?

• 25 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. In Somerset, only 41% of children have seen an NHS dentist in the past two years, which is well below the national average. Ben from Somerton is a single parent of four children. He lives in an NHS dental desert and worries about the health of his children’s teeth. There is no way he can pay for private dental care, as he can barely afford to pay for his children’s food. Ahead of the Budget tomorrow, can the Minister confirm what action he is taking?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Families in Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

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  There are nearly 300 households in temporary accommodation in Somerset, and 120 of them include children. Somerset is spending nearly £3.4 million per year on additional temporary accommodation to help to meet that demand, but it is clear that a long-term solution must be supported. What steps is the Minister taking to increase the number of affordable homes to help address that situation?