Speeches by Dyke.

“My hon. Friend shares his experience of losing his father. I lost my father in the same way, and he too was a proud farming man. I want to raise an issue from a constituent who contacted me about her father James. He is currently alone in a room in a hospital, and he is scared to mix with other violent dementia patient…”

“My hon. Friend reminds me of a conversation that I had with William, a constituent from High Ham who has been caring for his wife, who has had Alzheimer’s for many years. He has relied on the intensive dementia support team in Yeovil, but the service has recently been reorganised. As a result, it has become quite fragm…”

“Somerset Youth Justice Service recently got a “requires improvement” rating from His Majesty’s inspectorate of probation. The situation is clearly damaging young offenders’ chances of rehabilitation, so what steps is the Department taking to improve SYJS and support young offenders in Somerset?”

“I have been working with some residents in Cavalier Way in Wincanton. They contributed £40,000 annually to Plymouth Block Management, their previous leasehold management company, which did not complete any repairs and deposited no reserves as it was transferred to the new company. The residents now have a 500% increase…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) on securing this important debate. The number of English farms has fallen by nearly a quarter in 20 years, with dairy farms, which are highly prominent in Somerset, hit…”

“Leonardo, based just outside my constituency, has been left as the sole bidder for a major defence contract worth up to £1 billion. The project could contribute more than 12,000 jobs to the UK supply chain, including 1,500 skilled jobs, some of which would be in Glastonbury and Somerton. Can the Secretary of State conf…”

“Off-road bikes are often used illegally across private farmland, causing damage to crops, spooking animals and leaving farmers feeling scared and vulnerable. While the Crime and Policing Bill includes a provision to make it easier for the police to seize vehicles associated with antisocial behaviour, Avon and Somerset …”

“Somerset is home to some iconic film locations such as Glastonbury Tor, which featured in “The Kid Who Would Be King”; Montacute House, which featured in “Wolf Hall” and “Sense and Sensibility”; and Wells, where “Hot Fuzz” was filmed. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the film industry in the UK thrives …”

“The recent no-notice closure of the special care baby unit and maternity unit at Yeovil district hospital has shocked residents across Glastonbury and Somerton. A soon-to-be first-time dad from Martock told me: “We are now left in this limbo state as the local NHS trust takes care of its poor management affairs”. He is…”

“My hon. Friend is right: there is no doubt that the Government have a really difficult job to clear up the mess left by the Conservative Government, but there have been far too many erroneous decisions and policy disasters already. For example, Matthew from North Brewham has run his small business for the last 28 years…”

“Excuse me, Madam Deputy Speaker. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need a fundamental overhaul of the harmful business rates system so that small businesses in rural areas can survive and succeed?”

“My hon. Friend talks about rural businesses. Ollie, a constituent of mine in Glastonbury and Somerton, works in video editing and depends on fast and symmetrical broadband to be able to transfer his files, but his rural community is reliant on outdated copper infrastructure that severely restricts the upload speeds. De…”

“The hon. Gentleman talks about the impact on people. A small business in Fifehead in my constituency has recently had to reduce its staff by four—small business, real impact. Small businesses create so much for our rural economy. Does he agree that the Government should scrap the national insurance contributions rise a…”

“My hon. Friend talks about U-turns. Does she agree that the Government should also reverse the family farm tax?”

“I am really pleased to see that around 3,000 SFI applicants are now going to be eligible, but these farmers have been left in the lurch. There have been considerable mistakes that should not have happened. Farming takes long-term planning. During the last couple of months those farmers have been severely disadvantaged …”

“That is not going to squeeze future budgets.”

“I picked up on something you said a minute ago. You said that many farmers will be eligible going forward into the next schemes. Can you clarify? When you say “many farmers”, is that all farmers, or are there going to be certain different eligibilities?”

“You do not think that any particular sector will be disadvantaged in any future schemes.”

“The closure of the SFI means that there is no support for land being entered into organic conversion for the first time for 30 years. This support was only transferred outside of the countryside stewardship scheme just several months before. Does the Department continue to support organic farming and will you reinstate…”

“I am going to be very clear about the organic conversion, because that is the next step that many farmers will be wanting to take. It takes three years to convert to organic. You will be continuing to support that conversion to organic farming and that certification.”