Speeches by Dinenage.

“The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is often overlooked, yet it is vital to the sustainability and success of our Royal Navy. Often its pay and conditions do not keep track with either the armed forces or the civil service. What can the Secretary of State say to members of the RFA to reassure them that they are valued?”

“It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the hon. Member for Bolton North East (Kirith Entwistle) for tabling such an important debate, and she made some really powerful points. I declare an interest: being very elderly, at one stage I was the Minister for Women and Equalities, and I…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. She is right to focus on this issue, and there are a lot of positives here. If I have any concerns, they are around the speed of the closure of the National Citizen Service and not knowing what will replace it. That could lead to gaps in provision, but also to some of t…”

“In 2023, I asked the Secretary of State’s colleague, the right hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson), who is now the Education Secretary, how Labour’s plans for VAT on school fees would impact the continuity of education allowance for forces families. I was told that I “need not be concerne…”

“Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 6 November.”

“I agree. I would love to see something done to exempt the childcare and adult social care sectors in particular from the policy. The Budget also threatens many organisations that are central to the regeneration of our communities. I welcome the fact that the cliff edge for business rate relief for hospitality, leisure …”

“You will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that the Gosport constituency is a community built around a shared history of service in and for our armed forces. Thirteen per cent of my constituents are veterans. Those are good, hard-working people who have served our country and asked for little in return, but they are not weal…”

“My constituent Suzanne is going to miss out on her winter fuel allowance this winter because she is just £10 above the pension credit threshold. As well as losing out on that vital money to keep her house warm, she does not get the £150 warm home discount, the £169 free TV licence or free NHS prescriptions. For the sak…”

“Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 6 November.”

“My constituent Suzanne is going to miss out on her winter fuel allowance this winter because she is just £10 above the pension credit threshold. As well as losing out on that vital money to keep her house warm, she does not get the £150 warm home discount, the £169 free TV licence or free NHS prescriptions. For the sak…”

“Will the hon. Lady please confirm the number of criminals convicted of rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and domestic violence who are now back on our streets as a result of her Department’s early release scheme?”

“I have enormous respect for the hon. Lady, given her previous role and her important new role as Chair of the Treasury Committee. As the Chancellor will be coming to see the Committee shortly, could the hon. Lady put a question to her on my behalf. We all know that we can learn lessons from previous Budgets about the l…”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) for raising this important debate. We can see from the number of people here how much this touches every single one of us. In my constituency, local venues, pubs and restaurants are seeing a triple whammy of pressure with increased wage cost…”

“The Minister will know that grassroots sports venues play a key role in improving the nation’s health. The UK will host the T20 women’s world cup in 2026, and cricket will join the Olympic family of sports in 2028. The previous Government committed a £35 million investment into 16 grassroots cricket hubs and cricket do…”

“In April, more than 50 homes and businesses in Gosport found themselves underwater when Storm Pierrick hit; some people have still not been able to return to their properties. This has now been upgraded to a one-in-20-year risk. We have still not had a decision from the Environment Agency about flood and coastal erosio…”

“First, I welcome the Secretary of State’s words. The Select Committee worked hard to get that commitment to tax credits in the Budget earlier this year, and her implementing it at a time when investment in British film—particularly low-budget British film—is at its lowest ebb, is both welcome and timely. Our recollecti…”

“Order.”

“Bradley Thomas has one minute to wind up.”

“Order. We seem to have a problem with the sound—it seems to be everybody’s microphones. I encourage the hon. Gentleman to plough on while we see whether we can change a few plugs and get it rolling again. In case he was put off by the tinny quality of the sound, we are trying to get it rectified. Please plough on.”

“Order. We have to move on to the next speaker.”