Speeches by Dollimore.

“I will make some progress, because I know that we need to make progress in the debate. In conclusion, I thank the Minister for her work on bringing the Bill before the House so quickly. I know that this is just the start of the change that we need to deliver on our water companies. This Government are acting where the …”

“I think Opposition Members are slightly confused about the record of the Government of the past 14 years, of which both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives were a part at different points. My constituents in Hastings, Rye and the villages would find the hon. Gentleman’s assertion that the last Government fixed …”

“In the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, we took evidence from the chief executive of Ofwat, who was clear that the bonus that the boss of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden, received this year would not have been paid had the previous Conservative Government brought the measures in this Bill before the House…”

“In Hastings, Rye and the villages, we have some of the worst potholes in the country, so I welcome the record £21 million awarded to east Sussex to fill potholes. Will the Secretary of State join me in calling on Conservative-run East Sussex county council to fill the potholes, and ensure that Hastings and Rye gets its…”

“Does my hon. Friend share my horror at our current situation, in which constituents are getting ear and eye infections from swimming in the sea or rivers? One constituent of mine even attributes their deafness in one ear to an infection they got in the sea. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill is desperately needed …”

“On the questions that the hon. Gentleman is asking around the type of monitors we have on sewage outlets, is he aware that the Environmental Audit Committee looked at this very issue in the last Parliament? It recommended the approach currently being taken by the Bill, which is to look at monitors upstream and downstre…”

“I really welcome the measures in the Bill to ensure that the many children being home-schooled have all the support they need to get back into mainstream education. I was extremely concerned to find out that in the last academic year, 800 children in Hastings were being home-schooled—that is one in 16 children, or 27 c…”

“Today we have rightly heard a lot from Members in all parts of the House about the desperate need to get more aid into Gaza—an issue that many of our constituents are concerned about and that the Government are rightly working very hard to address. One of the most disturbing trends in this conflict is the huge number o…”

“Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. May I welcome this record investment in our hospices from the Labour Government? The Conservative Government had 14 years to do that, but they shirked that responsibility. Will the Minister join me in thanking the amazing staff and volunteers at Saint Michael’s Hospice and Demelza hospice i…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. One of the things in the Bill that I really welcome is that it will stop water companies marking their own homework. The monitors on every outlet will report independently to the Government, so that we can issue automatic severe fines—a big change and step forward. If huge …”

“Will the right hon. Lady give way?”

“I thank the Secretary of State for the work he and his Department are doing to change the compensation rules so that when these incidents happen, my constituents get higher levels of compensation—something that the Conservatives had 14 years to do, but failed to do. Had they acted in that time, my residents would not b…”

“I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on water pollution. Today, we will vote on a landmark piece of legislation to begin the clean-up of our water industry. The measures in the Bill ramp up regulation, ban bosses’ bonuses and ensure independent monitors on every sewage outlet, linked t…”

“Queensway Gateway in my constituency is known as the “road to nowhere” because it has been left unfinished for over a decade, so my constituents in Hastings and Rye were delighted that the Labour Government confirmed more than £2.5 million to finish the road. However, Conservative-run East Sussex county council has let…”

“High net worth individuals for example.”

“I am conscious of time, and given the discussion so far, I am going to combine the questions. I would like to begin by echoing my colleagues’ comments, to place on record our thanks to the farming community, the hard work that everybody in the rural community does day in, day out to put food on our table. We really app…”

“You have expressed some concerns that with these changes there might be a smaller pool of land available for tenant farmers. Who do you see buying up that land instead? Would it be other landlords who would then lease the land?”

“There has been some reference to the Rock review into the tenant farming sector, and I know that obviously the Government are committed to implementing those recommendations. Have you seen any progress since that review in your sector, in terms of those being moved forward under the previous Government? What would be y…”

“You referenced profit. No one on this Committee would think profit was a dirty word, but we are very aware of how the farming sector has become less profitable in recent years. I know we have seen 12,000 farms close in the last decade. I just wondered if the panellists could comment on what they see as the main drivers…”

“Just before I bring in Tom on the wider sector issues, you touched on that issue around who is owning the land. If you look at the top 10 recipients of subsidies from DEFRA in recent years, many of the people on that list often are a surprise. For example, Oxbridge Colleges or huge multinationals. Do you think that is …”