Ben Lake
MP for Ceredigion Preseli · Plaid Cymru · United Kingdom
“First, I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this important urgent question. I have spoken to coastguard rescue officers from Ceredigion Preseli in recent weeks, and they all share common concerns.”
“One of my constituents submitted a request for their pension just over a year before their proposed retirement date, but is still waiting—sadly, it is little wonder that the June date has been missed.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement on the actions the Government will take to try to restore the public’s faith in our democracy. She mentioned that the “know your donor” rules will be strengthened, in particular with regard to the location of potential donors.”
“I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate and for the way that he has outlined the issue at hand. I also commend him on the Bill that he brought forward.”
“For the inquiry to secure justice for victims and survivors in Wales, it is essential that it fully understands the devolved context in Wales and the various lines of accountability that arise from it. One way to achieve that would be for Wales to receive a specific investigation as one of the inquiry’s designated local areas.”
“I am grateful that my hon. Friend has reiterated that point, and I will do likewise. Many of my constituents who have been affected and infected by this scandal have asked me to emphasise the point that even the updated scheme does not properly recognise the long-term consequences of interferon treatment.”
The complete record
Every one of 601 lines we hold for Ben Lake, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 13.
“First, I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this important urgent question. I have spoken to coastguard rescue officers from Ceredigion Preseli in recent weeks, and they all share common concerns. The first is that as many as half of their colleagues in the coastguard service will reconsider their position should this new proposed model come into effect. Secondly, and just as importantly, there is the impact on partner emergency services. Given the MCA leadership’s statements about the operational impact of these changes, could the Minister ensure that the assessments and the modelling are made public, so that we can properly scrutinise them and have confidence that we understand the consequences of this decision before it comes into effect?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement on the actions the Government will take to try to restore the public’s faith in our democracy. She mentioned that the “know your donor” rules will be strengthened, in particular with regard to the location of potential donors. Has there been any consideration of adding a prospective donor’s criminal history to the list of due diligence factors that a political party must consider when processing a potential donation?”
“One of my constituents submitted a request for their pension just over a year before their proposed retirement date, but is still waiting—sadly, it is little wonder that the June date has been missed. My constituents will thank the Minister for explaining the significant resource that the Government have allocated to eradicating this backlog, but, in advance of the August deadline, what additional resource in terms of staffing or funding is Capita allocating to the task?”
“I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate and for the way that he has outlined the issue at hand. I also commend him on the Bill that he brought forward. Does he agree that in the interim, as the Bill progressed through Parliament, there other steps that we could be take, such as changing Standing Orders and the code of conduct, and particularly in political parties? My own party has prohibited MPs from taking any other occupation.”
“For the inquiry to secure justice for victims and survivors in Wales, it is essential that it fully understands the devolved context in Wales and the various lines of accountability that arise from it. One way to achieve that would be for Wales to receive a specific investigation as one of the inquiry’s designated local areas. Will the Minister consider that?”
“I am grateful that my hon. Friend has reiterated that point, and I will do likewise. Many of my constituents who have been affected and infected by this scandal have asked me to emphasise the point that even the updated scheme does not properly recognise the long-term consequences of interferon treatment.”
“Building on what the Minister said about employment costs, we have heard about the pressures that many hospitality businesses, particularly pubs, are feeling following the reduction to the threshold on the increase of the rates. As part of the work that the Minister is undertaking to review things in the round, could he focus on the possibility of increasing the employment allowance for smaller businesses in the sector? That could be a very welcome relief for them.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and the efforts she is making to protect children and young people from the harms of social media. I welcome her sentiment that social media platforms have more to do and a greater responsibility to keep our children safe. With that in mind, will there be greater consequences for platforms that, for whatever reason, still allow and provide services to children online?”
“I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is grave and that renewed international energy and focus are required if the level of humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza is to be increased with the urgency the situation demands. With that in mind, will she ensure that increased international co-operation and immediate action to ameliorate the situation will be a key priority of the discussions held in Paris later this week?”
“I extend to the Minister a warm invitation to visit the wonderful Ceredigion Preseli coastline in the summer. We have heard much mention this afternoon of a possible reduction to the rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism businesses. Would the Government consider that? It would give many hospitality businesses not only a hope of survival but confidence that they might be able to invest in their businesses.”
“I join others in paying tribute to the Minister for his work on this matter and on the Government’s response to Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. I also thank him for his intention to ensure that the administrative burden placed on those infected and affected is limited as much as possible. With that in mind, can I ask him for clarification on the level 2B severity category and the increase for those who were infected when they were younger than 18? Will those new mechanisms be adjusted automatically for existing claims, or will claimants need to apply or work in another way to get those mechanisms applied to their cases?”
“The Prime Minister was right to mention the untold economic damage that this crisis has already wrought on households and businesses across the country owing to increased fuel costs, but does he share my fear and that of the agricultural sector that the prolonged closure of the strait of Hormuz may also feed through to higher food inflation? May I ask him what measures the Government are considering to help mitigate the potential consequences of a prolonged closure of the strait?”
“I, too, welcome Sir Philip Rycroft’s work and the Secretary of State’s announcement today. I strongly support the idea of applying the donations cap and the moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to the devolved elections. Will the Secretary of State just clarify, to reassure me, that for those changes to take effect for the upcoming elections, we will not have to have a legislative consent motion from the devolved legislatures before the elections because, as others have mentioned, there is very little time for that to happen?”
“What contingency planning is taking place to support non-domestic energy bills, especially in rural areas such as mine where a great number of small businesses and community organisations rely on heating oil and LPG?”
“I welcome today’s statement on the introduction of a strategy for such a critical industry, and particularly commend the Government for the emphasis they place on the importance of steel sites across Wales. With that in mind, can the Secretary of State offer greater detail on the types of investment he envisages in the strategy to go into sites in Wales, and the rough timescale over which we can expect to receive it?”
“The hon. Member makes an important point about the impact on rural areas. Does he also agree that we should bear in mind the consequences of this price spike on businesses? Many of the businesses in my patch are also off grid. Having gone through the winter period and perhaps hoping for some good fortune in the spring, they are now facing this big barrier. Indeed, some have already told me that they are cutting back on operations and contemplating closure because of this new pressure.”
“I welcome today’s announcement and the proposals. They potentially offer a relief of 20% or so to the households in Wales that are off-grid, including 72% of households in my constituency. The Minister will appreciate that households will be anxious to understand what level of support they stand to receive. Was there a per-household level of payment in mind when the Government came up with these calculations? Given that LPG households will be entitled to support, can I also ask why heating oil data was used to calculate the £3.8 million allocation for Wales?”
“The Minister knows that the Computer Misuse Act 1990 criminalises a lot of legitimate cyber-resilience and vulnerability research. I think that the Government are minded to introduce a statutory defence for such research, but can he share whether that defence will be introduced as part of the cyber Bill?”
“Some 72% of households in my constituency have no connection to the mains gas grid. For those who filled their tanks over the weekend, the consequences of the Iran crisis have become very real, and those who are still to do so are anxious to learn when any potential support that may be agreed on Wednesday will be provided.”
“7. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on Welsh farmers.”
“Dr Amanda Gibson and her team of scientists at Aberystwyth University are leading research into how the BCG vaccine might be used to help control tuberculosis in cattle. I know the Minister will agree that this is essential work, but can she help ensure that their research is also considered as part of the UK’s negotiations with the EU, so that we do not have to make a choice between animal health and exports?”
“Small businesses play a critical role in the economy of places such as Ceredigion Preseli. As the Chancellor will know, increased energy costs have put real pressure on their ability to operate in recent years. In the light of events over the weekend and the crisis in the middle east, what consideration are the Government giving to additional support to help small businesses to meet rising energy costs?”
“I also want to raise the removal of the automatic 10% “wear and tear” tax allowance for childminders, which will come into force from April. Childminders in my constituency have long used this provision to meet the costs of the inevitable damage, and maintenance costs, that arise from hosting their businesses in their homes. They have told me that the move to this new system is forcing them to reconsider their ability to continue in this critical sector. If the Government could look again at that, I know that a lot of childminders in my constituency would be grateful.”
“This inconsistency is troubling, and the lack of clarity of how the Valuation Office Agency, as it was, has come to make the calculation is causing a significant degree of concern. I turn to the measures that could help businesses in the tourism and hospitality industries. The VAT rate, currently set at 20%, has long been a concern for these businesses. Again, they would be grateful if the Government could look again at the rate. Decreasing it to 15% would offer them much-needed breathing space to withstand some of these increased pressures and costs, but also the opportunity to invest in their businesses and their staff—something we all want to see if we are to bring about economic growth across the land. Indeed, other countries have shown that a reduction in the rate of VAT for tourism and hospitality can bring significant benefits.”
“The final thing is business rates, and colleagues from across the House will have had a lot of concerns on this appear in their postbags and inboxes in recent weeks. It is for the Welsh Senedd and Welsh Government to look at the reliefs and how they offer additional support to small businesses. The one thing it would be worth this House and Government considering is the way in which the valuation process operates. One common concern is that the process lacks transparency and clarity as to how valuations are calculated. Some businesses in hospitality and trade, for example, cite that their rates are primarily driven by turnover as opposed to profitability, whereas in retail it is primarily fixed on the square meterage of their shops.”
“That would offer much-needed support to many of the businesses in Ceredigion Preseli. Another point that they wanted me to raise was the rising pressure of employment costs. Between January of last year and April this year, an employer with nine people on the national living wage will see their annual employment costs increase by an equivalent of 12.9% and the employer national insurance bill over that two-year period would have increased by 46%. One proposal these businesses have suggested that the Government could entertain next week is to uprate the employment allowance, so that it continues to cover the employer national insurance contributions of four employees on the national living wage. That would offer great support to the businesses I have spoken to in Ceredigion Preseli.”
“That would be devastating for economies across the United Kingdom, but specifically so in the small business capital of Wales that is Ceredigion Preseli. In the spirit of doing the small things and in advance of the spring statement next week, I draw the attention of the House to some measures that those businesses have suggested the Government could take to help them build a firmer and more prosperous future. On energy costs, businesses with an annual electricity consumption of around 40,000 kWh, which is a typical small restaurant, gym or café, are currently looking at a potential rise in their standing charge of some 40%. One proposal that the Government could entertain is to mirror the support that they are offering on household bills—the 75% reduction in renewable obligation costs—to non-domestic bills.”
“Businesses cited the impact of rising energy costs, higher employment costs and the burden of increased business rates. That is not a problem that is unique to Ceredigion Preseli, with the Federation of Small Businesses having found that to be equally true across the whole UK. Indeed, according to recent FSB research, from April this year the typical high street business will face an estimated £25,000 in extra unemployment costs and £1,600 in higher energy standing charges. We all agree that that sort of incessant rise in costs for small businesses is simply unsustainable. Unfortunately, too many are now citing that the pressures have become so acute that 35% have said that they are planning to close or contract over the coming year.”
“In my constituency of Ceredigion Preseli, as much as 81% of businesses are classified as small, making it the small business capital of Wales—an accolade that we are very proud to hold. Thirty-five per cent of those businesses are in the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and some 15% are in hospitality and tourism. Although the winter months are always quite difficult for those industries, in recent weeks I have had a chance to meet a number of small business groups from Aberystwyth in the north of my constituency to Fishguard and Goodwick in the south. Unfortunately, they have all told a tale of the difficulties and challenges they face as small employers. I want to draw the House’s attention to the cumulative pressures that are having a severe impact on their ability to trade and to continue in business.”
“Diolch, Madam Deputy Speaker. I begin by thanking the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) for opening the debate, and indeed for her work as the chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee. As she mentioned in her speech, we work as a team for Wales on the Committee, and it is good that we have this opportunity today not only to speak about the work of the Committee, but to talk to the wider House about the wonders of Wales and how great St David’s day is. St David is famous for having said that we should do the little things, and it is in that spirit that I will dedicate my speech to small businesses, which, as is the case across Wales, forms the backbone of our economy.”
“The ladies of the Celtic longboats at Aberporth did the voyage from Aberporth to Llanon, the village named after St David’s mother, Non. Of course, there are the cawl evenings held across my constituency and the eisteddfods—this weekend in Swyddffynnon and Crymych, but also in schools across the constituency. I would like to place on the record my gratitude to all those community volunteers and champions who have put on these events and who ensure that St David’s day is a joyous occasion. I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, a dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus iawn.”
“That is why it is so important to ensure that we support these small businesses. It would be remiss of me not to brandish my constituency’s links with St David. He was, of course, born just to the south of my constituency boundary in the area of St Davids, but he was—according to legend—raised along the Ceredigion coast. Of course, as the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn mentioned, he performed one of his most famous miracles in the village of Llanddewi-Brefi. If I needed to really underline his Ceredigion credentials, he was the grandson of a Ceredigion king. Perhaps it is because of that that we have so many St David’s day events across Ceredigion Preseli, from parades in Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Fishguard and Goodwick, as well as in the towns of Lampeter, Tregaron and Aberaeron.”
“I agree with the hon. Member that the investment in rail will do a great deal of good for businesses in her constituency. Of course, it is sadly not the same for mine due to historical structures of the railway network—the hon. Member nods. The fact of the matter is I only have three stations, and they are all terminals, so sadly the investment that has been announced will not quite reach us yet, but I hope that in due course we will receive further announcements of investment in the Cambrian and west Wales lines. I would very much welcome and applaud the Government if they were to do so. For rural areas such as those of the hon. Member and mine, the outflow of young people is a big concern. In my part of the world, the 6% decline in the overall population from the last census is a real worry for us.”
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making such a powerful speech. Does he share my concern that one of the other consequences of these changes might be that fewer young people decide to go to university? That would obviously be to their detriment, but it would also be to the detriment of society in more general terms.”
“I am grateful to the Minister for her generosity. I agree wholeheartedly that it is important that these hubs offer that wider range of banking services, and I draw her attention to the plight of community bank account holders, who often need to have access to a service that currently is available only in a bank branch, but could be provided in a banking hub in the future.”
“Firearms applications, which our predecessors correctly deemed to carry more risk because of the greater lethality of the weapons, will inevitably be prioritised, so there are clear risks that what were section 2 applications will fall to the bottom of the pile. That means that many of my constituents—farmers and those involved in pest control—will find that they are facing even longer delays in securing the relevant licences so that they can operate and perform their crucial function in the rural economy.”
“Members have already mentioned the need for greater resourcing, which I very much support, but a bolder idea, which was presented by the hon. Member for South Shropshire (Stuart Anderson) and others, is a centralised national licensing body. It strikes me as eminently sensible that we should have a specialised, centralised body, much like the DVLA for motorists, to realise efficiencies of scale, introduce expertise and ensure a more effective system overall. My other concern, if we proceed with these changes, is that an already overwhelmed system will find itself even more overwhelmed.”
“There are concerns that that number would reduce under these proposals, but even if we were to have only 250,000 certificates for what would currently be section 2 licences, it would still be more than double the number of section 1 licences at present. There are severe delays and units under pressure across the country, with significant inconsistencies in processing times—from 12 weeks to, at the worst, more than three years. Even if we were to agree that the merger was a good idea and would enhance public safety, can we be confident that it could be implemented, given the operational difficulties that the current system is shouldering? Like many of my constituents, I argue that instead of the proposed merger of sections 1 and 2, we should look at the system itself. Other hon.”
“My constituents also wanted me to convey that, even if we were to agree that the proposed merger would enhance public safety, whether or not it would realise that objective would depend on the efficacy and resourcing of the system. They have been clear to me that the current system is already creaking under great pressure. Across England and Wales, there are 43 different police licensing units, each operating with slightly different standards. The inconsistency in the system has been described to me as a postcode lottery. Surely we can agree that we need a more standardised, nationally consistent approach to processing applications for firearm licences. Perhaps most importantly, the capacity of the existing system would struggle to deal with the proposed changes. At present, I think there are more than 500,000 section 2 certificates.”
“Many of my constituents pointed out that many of the safety checks in the current regime are similar for both section 1 and section 2 applications, including medical and background checks. There are very good reasons for those checks. Every constituent who has written to me or visited me in surgeries recently has said that they support tight gun controls. They are proud of the fact that this country has a very good record on firearms regulation, but they do have questions of the Government about the proposed changes, which I shall relay to the Minister. As far as they can see it, the changes and the proposed merger would not improve safety by much for the public, not least because the suitability test—the core tenet of both section 1 and 2 applications—is already robust.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for opening the debate in such an effective and measured way. Some 292 of my constituents signed the petition, and I thank all those who have contacted me in recent weeks to relay and explain their concerns about the proposed merger of the section 1 and section 2 firearms licences. A number of hon. Members have already outlined those concerns, so I will try not to repeat them, other than to summarise them. The proposed changes, although perhaps well intentioned, are disproportionate and will not realise the Government’s stated objective. I will begin with the concerns about the proportionality of the changes.”
“For those reasons, I should like to urge caution and impress upon the Government that we need to be mindful of many unintended consequences, and that, rather than looking to embark on this very significant change, we might be better off first looking at ways of making the current regime work better. I commend to the Minister the idea of a centralised body—not like the DVLA—that could free up police resources to tackle illegal firearms and ownership. That would represent a far better way forward and achieve what I think we all want, which is to improve public safety.”
“Leading on from that point, my concern is that, if we merge sections 1 and 2, we will have an already overwhelmed system where licence applications for less risky weapons fall to the bottom of the pile, with an impact on legal and lawful uses such as those in my constituency—whether for conservation, farming or sport—or, controversially, we might have a situation where the riskiest, most dangerous weapons also find themselves lost in an overwhelmed system, which is surely not what we want. That is one potential unintended consequence that we should be mindful about as legislators.”
“I must concede that the DVLA was perhaps not the best of examples to cite. The right hon. Member is correct that the original Firearms Act—back in 1920, I believe—differentiated between the smooth barrel and the rifle for very good reasons. Others have touched upon that, and my hon. Friend the Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan) elaborated on the point about the differentiation of lethality and effective range. Those are very important points that surely remain salient and key if the objective of this exercise is to ensure public safety.”
“We need to consider that while those countries are perhaps flooding our social media feeds with disinformation generated by armies of bots, or trying directly to bribe some willing fools in our political environment, they are paving the way to undermining and corroding trust in political institutions and authorities such that we are even more vulnerable to the direct attacks they may launch, such as the terrible poisonings in Salisbury back in 2018, the arson attack back in 2024 or indeed the almost constant daily threat that these mysterious Russian research ships pose to our critical subsea infrastructure. By allowing political interference to continue, we risk undermining the public’s trust in all our institutions and, indeed, in the very integrity of our politics.”
“Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) said in his intervention, we should not be so naive as to think that it is not happening here in the UK. The strategic defence review of June last year concluded that we are under daily attack. When we talk about political interference, whether it is Russian, Iranian or Chinese for that matter, we should place that in the broader context of other hybrid warfare tactics, some of which the hon. Member for South Norfolk referred to.”
“It is a subject that a whole host of investigative journalists have written about in some detail, and which I would very much like to hear the Government state that they are looking at. Such devices are created in Moscow in Russia and are then used to funnel money into our political discourse and political actors who try to interfere and influence our debates in malign ways that are very difficult for us to spot, or at least not very easy for the Electoral Commission and other authorities to act on effectively. I will end by reflecting on why that is so important. The hon. Member for South Norfolk outlined the host of ways in which the Russian state is trying to target society and democracy in western countries and specifically in the UK. As the hon.”
“Sadly, it might not be possible to bring about any legislative changes in time for the elections in Wales and other parts of the UK in May this year. Nevertheless, it is important that we do not waste any time so that further elections are not influenced in any way by the scourge of Russian interference. I also ask the Minister that, as part of the review’s considerations, we look at the egregious loopholes in our current laws that the Russian state was able to exploit by funnelling money through to political actors and traitors in the UK for their own ends. I would like his reassurance that one particular device and mechanism being examined is the creation of Welsh limited partnerships.”
“As has been mentioned, he has been jailed for 10 and a half years for accepting Russian bribes to the tune of some £40,000 for making pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament and to the media. As I think everybody will agree, the man has committed treachery for £40,000, so we must ask serious questions about his integrity and that of his party, whose members I notice are absent from today’s debate. I want to make two broad points. The first is to explain why it is so important that we waste no time in implementing measures in response to the findings of the review that the Government have rightly called for and initiated. I understand the review will report its findings in March. I plead with the Government Minister to ensure that the findings are acted on as soon as possible, so as to preserve the integrity of our democracy.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) on so eloquently detailing the importance and urgency of this matter. I also congratulate the petitioners on organising such an important petition. I speak as the Member of Parliament for Ceredigion Preseli, the constituency that—half an hour ago, at least—had secured the highest number of signatories. As the hon. Member outlined, Wales is one of the areas that has secured the highest concentration of signatories across the entirety of the UK. It will come as no surprise to anybody who listened to his excellent speech that the reason for that interest and level of concern in Wales is the antics and treachery of the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, Mr Nathan Gill.”