Speeches by Dickson.

“How about a fairness issue, Professor Leunig?”

“So there is potentially a practicality issue there.”

“One other idea the Chancellor could decide to pick up—it has been around for a while—is levying a charge on properties at the top end of the market, which would fit Professor Leunig’s notion of those with the broadest shoulders paying the most. For instance, a 1% levy could be introduced on properties over £2 million a…”

“Q11. I have long thought that you, Mr Speaker, and the Prime Minister would suit a magnificent moustache—and I am sure that you would be capable of growing a better one than mine. Many men, inside and outside this House, are growing our taches out this month to highlight the need for our health system, and men ourselve…”

“I welcome the statement from the Secretary of State, and particularly her strong support for the BBC as an institution that belongs to us all. With the BBC regularly rated worldwide as one of the most trusted global news sources, does she agree that a strong BBC acts as a bulwark against misinformation not only in this…”

“A very important one: obviously, the central focus of the Budget is how the Chancellor can increase tax revenues to pay for investment in public services and other priorities. Do you have any thoughts on what sensible measures to increase revenue might be—perhaps improving the tax system at the same time? There is lots…”

“Sir Vince, you wrote that a 1% rise in VAT would raise £7 billion and you felt that was still below what other countries were capable of raising through that measure. Do you think that the UK ought to perhaps take that option?”

“My hon. Friend is making a passionate speech. In a past life, as a cabinet member for health in a local authority, I was active in promoting a voucher scheme run by the Alexandra Rose charity and the Beacon Project, which offered families in need vouchers they could redeem for fresh fruit and veg at the local market. D…”

“So we can expect to see action in that area, should the FCA judge that there is a risk to consumers?”

“On the latter issue, Minister, you talked about Aviva, for instance, being able to use AI on its motor insurance products, and that has cut complaints, because presumably the products are hyper-personalised, or much more personalised than was available before Aviva and other companies started using AI. We heard from th…”

“The Committee has had evidence to our inquiry that consumers are using search engines like ChatGPT to get financial advice and adopt financial products. If this was not ChatGPT, the provision of that sort of advice would require FCA licensing and supervision. Is that a concern to you, and an area where we might need to…”

“Can we go back to consumers? Minister, you talked about many of the advantages to consumers of applying AI to financial services, and you listed some of the improvements provided to them. What about some of the risks? Do you believe there are adequate protections in the way products are provided to consumers to prevent…”

“I warmly welcome the news today from the Office of Rail and Road that competition can start on international rail lines to the continent, and I thank the Government for their strong support for that. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is vital that the new operator, Virgin, commits to restoring rail services to…”

“I welcome this debate warmly. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) for securing it, and for her excellent speech introducing it, and to other Members for their great contributions. Property service charges, whether for freeholders who have purchased homes on unadopted new build estates or for lea…”

“So the conclusion would be that lifting the cap not only clearly lifts people out of poverty but is a policy that can support people with a variety of different characteristics, like disability, who are currently not getting the support they might otherwise have had.”

“Just building on that, you talked about particular demographics being affected by the two-child cap. You talked about families with more children, and that being disproportionately some BAME groups. Are there any others that you would point to? Are the number of adults in the household part of the story here, or the wo…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) for securing this important debate and for his thoughtful opening speech. Dartford grammar school is a historic institution in my constituency, which has been providing exceptionally high-qua…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In my constituency, the IB is available to children from low-income backgrounds and is particularly attractive because it provides young people with additional stretch and challenge and breaks down barriers to opportunity—not only in top universities, which is very important, but in …”

“How does the industry rate in job creation, compared with other industries? How does its GVA compare with other industries such as food, restaurants or other leisure sectors?”

“I have a final question on the potential economic damage caused by increased taxation. Is there a way of comparing the job creation activity and potential of the industry, and its gross value added, with other industries so that we can assess the claim that increased taxation will cause these harms in unemployment and …”