Speeches by Dyke.

“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and agree that the UK must show global leadership on climate action. Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store, yet damaged peatlands are responsible for almost 5% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The UK imports 60% of peat used in horticulture, of…”

“Moving on to pollution incidents being at an unacceptable level, do Ofwat and the Environment Agency need to work more closely together to ensure that companies take these incidents seriously enough to tackle them?”

“Do you think that the use of self-reporting by water companies undermines the robustness of the data that you are getting back in?”

“How are you looking to improve the transparency of the data that is provided by water companies, given that Thames Water has recently been fined £3.3 million after a deliberate attempt to mislead the Environment Agency?”

“I have a specifically Somerset question. In May 2023, Natural England changed the condition status of the Somerset Levels’ SSSIs to unfavourable and declining due to poor water quality from a combination of domestic, agricultural and sewage waste in rivers. That was on top of the letter that we received in August 2020,…”

“Residents across Somerset are once again feeling incredibly anxious. Parts of Glastonbury and Somerton saw 130 mm of rain during Storm Bert over the weekend, which has placed additional strain on our ageing flood defence network. Does the Secretary of State agree that, because of the increasing frequency and severity o…”

“There is a significant disparity in sentencing for murder based on whether a weapon was taken to the scene of a domestic crime or was already present. Sentences for murderers who used a weapon already available at the crime scene start 10 years lower than sentences for those who brought a weapon with them. Does the Min…”

“I thank the hon. Member for bringing forward this important debate. The last Government oversaw soaring rates of plastic incineration, and delays to modest waste reforms such as deposit return schemes, while also refusing to support proposals to cut plastic production by 40% by 2040, which were put forward at the last …”

“My constituent Catherine Conway is the founder of GoUnpackaged, the world’s first modern zero-waste shop, which is hugely reducing the use of single-use plastics. She is also part of the Refill Coalition, which is developing and testing a standardised solution to deliver refills at scale in store and online. Does the h…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for securing this important debate. Some 6.9% of young people in Somerset are believed to be not in education, employment or training, which is higher than the national average of 5.5%. Does he agree that the Government should not only improve the quality of vocational education, but stren…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. I also live far away from Norfolk, but Somerset obviously has a record of flooding—in fact, it is named Somerset because it was the county where people lived in summer. Environment Agency data shows that 2,692 properties in my constituency are at risk of …”

“Carymoor Environmental Trust in my constituency runs fantastic plastic sessions and has educated over 58,000 children in Somerset about the environmental impact of plastic and about ways to avoid single-use plastic. Does the Minister agree that the best way to avoid single-use plastic is to deliver a global plastics tr…”

“I particularly want to know about the assessment you have made of vet shortages and how you will work across Government to tackle that problem. How will you achieve a potential veterinary agreement with the EU?”

“Secretary of State, do you feel that farmers will feel incentivised to innovate, given the decision in the Budget?”

“It is interesting to see the figures for SFI. It seems to have picked up after a very slow start, but it seems that farmers are still not incentivised to move into these schemes. Given the news in the Budget, I think that is a really interesting dilemma that farmers are going to face over the next couple of years, as t…”

“For many farmers, this will be the final nail in their coffins, or that is how they feel at the moment. Have you recognised, therefore, the impact that this decision is going to have on many farmers’ lives? We have had many years of turbulence in the farming sector, through trade deals, the transition from CAP to ELMs,…”

“I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. He mentioned the Trussell Trust, which supports the largest network of food banks in the UK. The charity distributed 61,000 food parcels in 2010-11, but between April 2022 and April 2023, it distributed close to 3 million, almost a fiftyfold increase. I have f…”

“I recently met Got Your Six in Wincanton, which provides crucial therapeutic support for veterans and serving personnel. One veteran told me that its support had been invaluable at a point in his life when he could not see a future. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Got Your Six, and will the Government suppo…”

“The new funding for bus services in Somerset is welcome, but my constituents often tell me that they need bus-rail links to connect areas not served by train stations. Will the Secretary of State outline the exact conditions for what each tranche of money must be spent on, to allow the council to plan much-needed impro…”

“Somerset council is facing a £7.5 million overspend on children’s services this financial year, with an increased number of children coming into care. I welcome the pledge to provide early interventions, as they provide better outcomes for children while keeping costs down for councils. Will the Secretary of State prov…”