Speeches by Dixon.

“So you are reassuring us that the timelines for those can match up, and that your plans will accommodate any proposals coming out of that review.”

“One of the other join-ups is between health and social care budgets locally. We received evidence from the NHS Confederation expressing frustration that pooled allocations, particularly around the better care fund, are often coming out late and are not joined up with when local government hears about its funding and wh…”

“We have heard a lot about local government having less of these ringfenced pots of money and greater flexibility. Will you be extending such flexibilities to allow greater pooling of budgets and allocating of resources between health and care, as the NHS Confederation propose?”

“Extending the flexibilities around things like the better care fund, for example.”

“One last thing: we have talked so much about demand-led and statutory services, but almost nothing about the very important discretionary services that make a huge difference to my residents’ day-to-day quality of life, whether that is parks, arts and culture, library services, or waste management. In its local governm…”

“On the point about data requests to other Government Departments, it is brilliant that the Government have given extra money for potholes—they are an issue that my constituents are concerned about—but is that basically because they have not had a grip on what the condition of roads has been? How are you going to contin…”

“But somebody has to push back on Ministers.”

“I would just point out the slight paradox in that response and the earlier response, when we were talking about adult social care and the market sustainability and improvement fund, where the view was, “No, we can’t tell them or ask them; it is entirely up to local government.” So we are scrutinising the spending on po…”

“I think there needs to be consistency across Government Departments and across areas of spend, so there are appropriate levels of accountability and assessment to give reassurance nationally, while recognising that there is local accountability.”

“And would the local audit office have a role in supporting that in future, in terms of transparency on what is being spent and on what outcomes are being delivered?”

“No, I am thinking in general about this idea of having an accountability framework, and having data that can give some assurance on what outcomes are being delivered for what spend.”

“My constituency of Shipley is not short of sporting talent. Baildon Fisical Sports Coaching Academy’s under-eights team has just won the national junior premier league final for the second consecutive season. I pay tribute to the Bumble Bees Barbarians, the first mixed-ability contact rugby union team in England, which…”

“15. What steps is she taking to allocate funding to local grassroots sports facilities in the north of England.”

“Did my hon. Friend hear Gareth Southgate talking in the Richard Dimbleby lecture about the fact that boys need positive male role models in the real world—people like football coaches, scout leaders, youth club leaders and more male teachers? I wondered if my hon. Friend would agree that having real-world role models w…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. I serve on the Public Accounts Committee, which looked at the NAO report on violence against women and girls. In West Yorkshire, the police have developed a brilliant prevention programme —the hon. Lady touched on the need for prevention—called Pol-Ed, which goe…”

“Parents of LGBTQ+ children are concerned that the 2024 guidance that the previous Government consulted on is providing a hostile environment and preventing conversations about trans and non-binary children from happening. Would the Minister would consider reverting to the 2023 guidance?”

“I volunteered with the OSCE to ensure free and fair elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996, following the Dayton peace agreement. I therefore have huge concerns about the escalating tensions. I welcome the diplomatic efforts we are undertaking to support stability, on which the Minister has updated us, but can he …”

“4. What steps she is taking to promote active travel.”

“Increasing active travel by 50% in England would result in 1.8 million fewer GP visits and 4 million fewer sick days. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment, reiterated by the Minister, to build 300 miles of new cycle lanes and walkways. Will the Minister meet me and the Friends of Wharfedale Greenway to see h…”

“Would you say that the emphasis for public education should be much more on infection reduction than on antibiotics?”