Speeches by Dixon.

“Welcome to the witnesses. Before I proceed with my questions, I need to declare a conflict of interest. I worked with Juliet when she was director of care and transformation at the Department of Health. For the record, I also have a personal association with Tony’s wife. I am going to pick up some colleagues’ themes ab…”

“They like their freedom to make choices, and colleagues will be coming back to accountability, so I am not going to do that. You raised the pupil premium. Given how important it is in the funding available and how much emphasis you are putting on it with regard to tackling disadvantage, why has it not kept up with infl…”

“I have spoken about victims, but I also want to underline the impact of waiting on defendants. I have a constituent whose trial has had many reschedulings. It is having an impact on his family life and his contact with his son, which is obviously incredibly distressing. To reduce disruption to family life, is there ano…”

“I do not think that there was data in the NAO Report on variation. Could you follow up with the geographical variation in the backlog data?”

“I am conscious that there are many levers. Not all of them are within your direct influence or jurisdiction, but clearly you have a role and a responsibility to make sure that they are all working together. My final point, which is relevant to the backlog, is about consistency and geographical variation. Bradford Crown…”

“Thank you, Chair, and good morning, witnesses. I would like to pick up on the issue of how long people are waiting. We understand that the average time from the case going to magistrates right through to completion at Crown court has gone up from 158 days to 279 days. Since the Committee’s last Report on the subject, b…”

“So you do not currently have any data on that?”

“Yes, please. I will come back to some of the specifics.”

“No. I want to come on specifically to violence against women and girls. You have raised it yourself, but we have received evidence from the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre, which makes it very clear that short-notice cancellations and postponements, often on the same day, are making the situation even more dif…”

“Can I probe you on that? Is there any data to show how many of those cancellations or deferrals relate to people who have given video evidence? I ask because there is some suggestion that in these cases, very vulnerable victims are giving video evidence because of their vulnerability, but from the point of view of the …”

“Like the Chair, I want to probe you on that shocking figure for victim attrition. I hear you saying that that is a wider issue and not just a specific one, but clearly for victims of sexual violence against women and girls or of rape, the idea of waiting for a year, two years or more even to have the opportunity to hav…”

“In England, more than 200,000 people were waiting for an autism assessment in September 2024. In my constituency, some adults have waited more than two years for an autism assessment, and one child has been waiting eight years—and is still waiting—to receive support from child and adolescent mental health services. The…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. It is personal to me, as I lost my grandfather in a road traffic accident before I was even born, and my grandmother was left with disability. Shipley experienced 183 road casualties in 2023, one of which was fatal. My hon. Friend mentions vision zero. West Yor…”

“In Shipley constituency, there are over 3,000 veterans. I have enjoyed meeting local veterans recently, and I invite my hon. Friend to join me in thanking them for their service. However, with the number of homeless veteran households in England reaching 2,270 in the year 2023-24, will the Minister assure me that veter…”

“20. What steps he is taking to improve support for veterans.”

“I associate myself with the Home Secretary’s remarks condemning those who perpetrate these horrific crimes. I stand with all victims of child sexual exploitation and sexual violence. As the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) knows, there was an independent review of child sexual exploitation in Bradford…”

“In my constituency, Bradford council’s Home FAST—first assessment support—scheme aims to get people home from hospital more quickly and to be assessed for any onward care services when they are at home. Since its launch, there has been a large reduction in the need for intermediate care facilities after hospital care. …”

“Anyone who has visited Shipley will know that the River Aire and the River Wharfe flow through the beautiful dales countryside of my Yorkshire constituency, and indeed that of my neighbour, the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore). I grew up paddling in the Wharfe, and as an adult I enjoy a regular dip. I…”

“ Good afternoon. Many small businesses on the high street in my constituency of Shipley are expressing concern about illegally imported tobacco and vape products. A shop owner I met with recently told me that, by avoiding the import duties, other shops were undercutting him and his legally sold…”

“ Do you have a target for further reducing the tobacco gap from 14%?”