Speeches by Dixon.

“As a member of the Public Accounts Committee I have been appalled at the failure of the previous Government to tackle the backlog in the courts, delaying justice for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. I thank the Minister for her unwavering commitment to repairing the justice system that we inherited for victi…”

“My niece successfully secured a place on a civil service internship. She was then able to go on and train as a work coach and is helping people who face similar challenges with neurodiversity or health conditions to get back into work. Does the hon. Lady agree that it is important that other employers set up these besp…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. In the Bradford district, there were 70 drug-related deaths in 2023. I agree with her that we need to take a different approach to tackling the problem, and it must be a public health approach. The UK could learn much from countries like Portugal, which has gone a long wa…”

“I think the preference would be to wait for time in the Chamber. Colleagues are aware that there have been oversubscribed debates in Westminster Hall. We think this is about bringing greater prominence and a wider ability for Back Benchers to give fuller speeches. Many of us have constituents who have tragically had lo…”

“I have, and I have been waiting for it for a long time. Thankfully we have now rescheduled it for Carers’ Rights Day. I am very aware of the timings of these things. On the other hand, can we put in now for next year? [Laughter.] This is because of timeliness around the road safety strategy.”

“Yes. We could remove the word “tackling”. We have suggested this debate because Road Safety Week will be focused on dangerous driving, so we would like to maintain “dangerous drivers” or “dangerous driving” in the title alongside “road safety”. I am very happy to accept a revision to the title as you suggest.”

“The topic of road safety is personal to me, as I lost my grandfather in a car accident. It was before I was born, and my grandmother, who raised me for some of the time, lived with lifelong disability. Tragically, the equivalent of three jumbo jets’ worth of people are killed on our roads every year. Road Safety Week i…”

“Many of my constituents have assets in the West Yorkshire Pension Fund, which manages more than £19 million. I am concerned, however, that some of the fund’s investments are concentrated in sectors that cause harm, such as the fossil fuel industry. Does the Minister agree that the West Yorkshire Pension Fund could inve…”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about the number of pop-up shops and illegal traders on the high street. I am running a petition about the antisocial use of fireworks; does she agree that more needs to be done to stop their illegal sale in pop-up shops?”

“I am very fortunate to represent the beautiful villages across the Shipley constituency, including Baildon, Menston, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Wilsden, Harden, Cullingworth and Eldwick. These communities are thriving because they have village halls; churches, like Wesleys in Baildon; post offices, like the community post o…”

“4. What steps she is taking with pension providers to help increase regional economic growth.”

“I am very proud that the Government have supported Ukraine through the provision of drones. I recently visited Radio Design, a company in Saltaire in my constituency that is at the cutting edge of radio frequency, which is essential for fighting the rapidly developing threat from drones. Can the Minister assure me that…”

“And that is the main outsourced provider?”

“Your commitment is to extend this to outsourced providers. Can you say anything more about how the modernisation programme and culture change is impacting on outsourced providers? Everything we have heard so far sounds as if it is all about your internal, directly employed staff. But clearly clients deal with outsource…”

“This question may be more for Barbara than for you, Helen. The DWP has gone through a lot of staff changes, but changing a job title to “coach” does not necessarily change how the person behaves. Obviously, in the past, there was a much more rules-based, compliance-driven conditionality than the one we see in “Pathways…”

“So it is feeding through in productivity?”

“Is that reflected in retention? What are your retention rates?”

“Yes, please.”

“We have talked about health transformation, but the other major programme that we discussed when you appeared before us before, or that you told us about, was your service modernisation programme. This relates to the point about customer experience but also to culture change. You briefly touched on this issue right at …”

“But of those that go to appeal, 70% to 80% are upheld in favour of the claimant.”