Speeches by Dickson.

“One of the most important products for people who are under financial stress is small sum loans of under £1,000. These are standard among community finance providers. Obviously, we are looking to get mainstream lenders to try to take that up now. You talked about the pilot that you got going under the leadership of Fai…”

“You will be reporting on how the framework is working, presumably, and we and you can make a judgment on whether people are being treated fairly.”

“If there is a marginal case and there is consideration as to whether something has met the criteria and whether it can be scaled up, do you see your role as being to get involved in that argument and press for an outcome, or is it a case of just making sure it is all being done properly?”

“9. What recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour.”

“Residents of Darenth and other parts of my constituency are facing persistent nuisance owing to the antisocial riding of motorbikes and quad bikes in local woodlands over the last few years. I know from my conversations with the new district commander for Dartford and Gravesham that the police are starting to use the p…”

“I thank the parents, teachers and young people in Dartford who came together with me at the end of last month to discuss how to take action against what social media companies are engaged in, which has been described as the great rewiring of our childhood. I was pleased to be able to provide a report to the Minister’s …”

“Last week during the hot weather, George Dalton, a young man in my constituency who was much loved and admired by family and friends, tragically lost his life in a small lake. He was one of about 15 people, many of them young, across the country who lost their lives in water-related incidents. I am sure that the though…”

“Residents in Dartford, like those across Kent, are experiencing poor service and increased bills—including residents in Ebbsfleet, who have to pay an additional sum for waste water to flow from their community into the Thames. That is charged for by the Port of London Authority; it is called dewatering, and it is incre…”

“Just to quickly pick up that issue, if you look across the Departments at which ones are reasonably successful at procuring on time, on budget and with successful delivery, the MOD seems very low. Is there something inherent about the way the MOD goes about this, to pick up Chris’s issue, or is it more to do with techn…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the excellent speech that he is making on a really important debate. My constituency, similar to his, has a range of small towns with different access to modes of transport. One of them is Swanscombe, home to the collapsed Galley Hill Road, which I have mentioned several times. Its train stat…”

“As a separate question, looking at the international comparisons, it was said earlier that the state makes the smallest contribution of any G7 country, and when compared with similar countries across Europe and elsewhere. Is that because those countries send fewer young people to university, or because they see the sta…”

“So it did not have a positive take-up from the previous Government, but it might be something we can look to take back in our report.”

“I have just a couple of quick issues to cover at the end. Sir Philip, you made the suggestion—which seemed to be met with a reasonable degree of agreement—that we should perhaps look to rebadge the system as a student contribution arrangement, rather than as a loan arrangement involving debt and all the psychology that…”

“In my constituency, major Government-funded infrastructure projects are providing strong opportunities for young people, including skills training, permanent jobs and careers. Does the Minister agree that as we renew our homes, bridges, crossings, railways and infrastructure, we have to maximise the opportunities for y…”

“In my constituency, major Government-funded infrastructure projects are providing strong opportunities for young people, including skills training, permanent jobs and careers. Does the Minister agree that as we renew our homes, bridges, crossings, railways and infrastructure, we have to maximise the opportunities for y…”

“On the notion of moving entirely to a tax-based system rather than the present one where clearly terms and conditions have changed and new plans and burdens have been introduced, would it be simpler to have a tax that graduates pay throughout their time as taxpayers?”

“Either the graduate tax or Sir Philip Augar’s idea of a graduate contribution system. Would you favour that as a potential element of the sorts of changes that we might recommend?”

“A lot of the evidence we have received talks about the heavy psychological burden of the amount of debt. You have stated very large figures that people face early in their careers—a £50,000 debt going up to £70,000 and beyond. Would you favour changing the terminology here? Obviously there are lots of other changes tha…”

“That is helpful. Thank you very much.”

“Do you think it is a useful to look at the cost benefits of state investment for the economy and for individuals, in order for us as a country—not necessarily for this inquiry—to think through whether having greater state contribution is worth it in the end?”