Speeches by Dyke.

“Just coming on to spatial approach, the farming road map says that there is going to be a move towards a more spatial approach to ensure that actions are taken where they will have the greatest impact. What farms do you expect will gain or lose funding under the targeted approach, and how will you create certainty arou…”

“Will the IT systems ensure that payments are made out in a timely fashion?”

“Going back to SFIs, given that, as of 3 July, we have already allocated 50% of the budget, it is likely that we are going to hit that 75% very shortly, as many applications are coming in from farms that are eligible now. If extra budget is required to enable those smaller farms or those that are not in schemes to come …”

“Can we keep a watching brief on that? I would be very interested to see that pattern of applications as they come through and how quickly that drops away. Going on to the SFI being made leaner, simpler and fairer, obviously it has fewer actions than SFI 25. What else are you doing to make sure that it becomes simpler a…”

“Good afternoon. Agriculture is evolving and transitioning from the EU-style subsidies to the “public money for public goods” approach under the ELM schemes, consisting of the SFI and countryside stewardship high tier scheme and landscape recovery scheme. The farming road map says that the ELMS funding distribution will…”

“Just on that, the countryside stewardship higher tier scheme has only been available to land in certain areas, including SSSIs and common land. The landscape recovery has had two pilot rounds, and has not been open since 2023, so that is limiting. We know that the SFI closed unexpectedly last year. It has been reopened…”

“I think it is always the case that those who can will, and they have the right advisers who are able to help support them in their applications. The difficult farmers to reach are the ones who are going out and doing the day job and do not have the extra support to be able to reach into these schemes. Those are often t…”

“Given what we have seen at the beginning of July, we are at 50% but those applications are coming in thick and fast. Some farmers are not going to be able to apply over the summer but fit into the eligibility criteria. Is there no flexibility to ensure that they can receive funding? They are the priority farmers, are t…”

“I recently visited RNAS Yeovilton and saw the welcome improvements to single living accommodation for serving personnel at HMS Heron. However, funding to refurbish or replace 14,000 service homes across the country—such as those in nearby Ilchester—has now been pushed back to 2030-35 to help pay for the defence investm…”

“My team are dealing with 18 civil service pension scheme cases. One of them involves Frosoulla, from Glastonbury, who took partial retirement earlier this year to care for her 92-year-old mother. She has made more than 15 calls to Capita and each time been reassured that her case has been prioritised—but she still has …”

“I thank the Minister for setting out this statutory instrument, which the Liberal Democrats support. For too long, the system regulating who can transport and manage our waste has relied on a simple registration scheme, scarcely able to distinguish between reputable operators and rogue ones. That simply cannot continue…”

“6. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of increasing funding for the defence investment plan.”

“The Minister is talking about driving footfall, but driving footfall in rural areas is sometimes quite difficult because of the sparsity. Rural high streets face significant challenges—if car parking charges are forced on our local authorities, for example. Will the Minister outline what specific support she is putting…”

“We are talking about vacant shops, but there is also a lot of antisocial behaviour on our high streets, which in some cases is largely due to the existence of vacant shops. I was speaking to the headteacher of a school in Glastonbury that is based just off the high street. The children there are already vulnerable; the…”

“A retired paediatrician and constituent told me recently that after giving 50 years’ service to the children of the NHS, she was devastated by the treatment of mothers and babies and loyal staff, whose concerns are routinely ignored, as when Yeovil’s specialist baby unit was recently closed without notice. While I welc…”

“It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Turner. I congratulate the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) on securing this important debate. Farmers are the foundation of communities across the country, but British farming is in crisis—not a crisis of effort or ambition, but a crisis of confidenc…”

“Instability in the middle east is a stark reminder that food security cannot be taken for granted. British farmers are the best in the world and they get up every single day to put food on our tables. While I welcome the farming road map, it lacks real ambition for farmers and food security. Will the Secretary of State…”

“The Minister is clearly setting out how the Indonesian rainforests and peatlands deliver irreplaceable global climate benefits. We know that conservation efforts have been severely undermined because of the funding issue and she is setting out that new funding will be available. Will she also set out a clear timeframe …”

“I thank the hon. Member for bringing forward this important debate. As she is setting out, peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined, whether that be on the Somerset levels in my constituency or in the rainforests of Borneo, and their destruction accelerates the climate crisis. Does she agree th…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for securing this important debate. The Government estimate that there were 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents across England last year and that waste crime costs the economy more than £…”