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.”
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“I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Member’s important intervention. Perhaps we in this country need to wake up to the nature of the threat: it is all-encompassing and comprehensive, so every single tier of government and of society needs to be engaged. Perhaps a national conversation about the seriousness of the threat should be initiated. The findings of the Government’s review may give us a good opportunity to trigger that national conversation. Once the review has issued its findings, we cannot waste any time in bringing forward the measures, whether legislative or budgetary, that need to be undertaken to protect the integrity of our democracy and tackle the scourge of Russian interference in our politics.”
“I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement today, and particularly for her engagement with the African Union and regional partners. I know that she will be concerned by the possibility of broader destabilisation as a consequence of this conflict. In the light of reports of renewed clashes in Blue Nile state and the mobilisation of armed groups in the southern and western parts of that state, what is the view of Ethiopia and South Sudan on the actions that need to be taken to limit the destabilisation? What role, if any, can the UK Government offer to play to support them?”
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for securing this very important debate. He mentions mobile services, from which my constituency benefits greatly. Does he share my concern that the Post Office tasks individual postmasters with an ever greater number of mobile spots? Although we are very grateful for their effort, that leaves the network vulnerable. If a postmaster falls ill or wants to retire, we lose significant coverage.”
“Dozens of small businesses across Ceredigion and north Pembrokeshire will have listened to the Minister’s statement with interest. Could he please reassure me that the consequential funding that he has confirmed will go to Welsh Government will be determined and communicated in time—by 1 April—to allow the Welsh Government to allocate additional support to those small businesses?”
“The Minister will be aware that Ofcom is consulting on a draft code of practice on the prominence of public service broadcasters on digital platforms. Does she agree that it is essential that S4C is included in any measures that come out of that consultation, so that it is given greater prominence on smart TVs and other digital platforms?”
“I know that parents, grandparents and, indeed, young people across Ceredigion Preseli will welcome action to tackle the harms of social media and mobile phone use. Given that education, which will be so important in implementing these measures, is a devolved responsibility in Wales, will the Secretary of State seek early discussions with the Welsh Government to ensure that any outcomes of the consultation are implemented equally across the United Kingdom?”
“I commend the Government for standing firm with our European allies in supporting the principle that the future of Greenland is a matter for her people and her people alone. I know that the Government will make every diplomatic effort to avoid the imposition of these punitive tariffs, but if they were to be imposed upon us, will it be the policy of the Government to pursue a co-ordinated approach with our European allies in any countermeasures that may prove necessary?”
“I am loath to interrupt such an excellent speech, but does the hon. Member agree that, as Members of Parliament, we all have a role to play in forging those relationships with our contemporaries in the Assemblée Nationale? I also congratulate him, in that vein, on becoming a vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group.”
“I commend the hon. Member on her leadership of the Welsh Affairs Committee. She rightly said that the Committee did stellar work on reviewing the potential impact of the proposals on agriculture in Wales. Further to her point about the unique nature and structure of the agriculture industry in Wales, does she agree that, regardless of the changes that the Treasury has introduced, it would do well to undertake a specific Wales-wide impact assessment of these changes?”
“If they do not, I ask the Government to consider such powers, so that they are able to intervene appropriately in the event of a future national crisis or emergency caused by AI systems in particular data centres. Such events could cause large-scale harm to the public, especially in the very rare but hopefully unlikely scenario in which the designated persons who are otherwise responsible for those systems refuse to co-operate with the Government. Having raised those two points, I wish to underline my support for the Government’s efforts in this regard. I very much welcome the Bill and its Second Reading.”
“If we accept that the nature of the cyber-threat and the risk to cyber-security are ever evolving, it will be impossible for any one piece of legislation to encompass all the possible dangers we may face. In order to try to future-proof the Bill, especially against national emergencies or crises, I wonder whether Ministers should consider even further last-resort powers, particularly to enable them to direct the shutdown of any domestic data centres or AI systems in the event of a security or operational emergency. I ask that because I am not entirely clear whether the powers already listed in the Bill allow Ministers to do that.”
“I wonder whether that consideration could be included as part of the statement of strategic priorities that part 3 of the Bill stipulates will be made by Ministers. The statement could then look not only at technical security as part of its cyber-resilience approach, but at digital sovereignty and domestic capability. In that regard, it would be not too dissimilar to some of the efforts we are starting to see from European partners. France and Germany are starting to undertake similar strategies and reviews of their domestic capability and potential over-reliance on certain suppliers. My second and final point is to seek clarity from the Minister when he sums up on the directions to certain bodies and persons for national security purposes in part 4 of the Bill.”
“Other Members have made the important point that we need to consider supplier concentration in this field and domestic capability. If we fail to do so, we risk long-term dependency. There are a few examples that I could draw on, but I will use that of Microsoft deciding to suspend the use of some of its services for justices in the International Criminal Court. I am not saying that Microsoft is going to threaten the UK Government or any of our services, but that example illustrates the risk that if we, or aspects of our economy or businesses, are overly dependent on certain suppliers, we are vulnerable. It is right that the Government have a way of preparing contingency plans for that or, at the very least, that they consider the potential impact of over-dependence on certain suppliers.”
“As other Members have made very clear, the nature of cyber-crime and cyber-attacks and the threat that they pose are ever evolving, so I have a great deal of sympathy with the Government as they endeavour to keep up with what is a very rapidly developing industry and nature of threat. Although I support the Bill and look forward to working with Ministers as it passes through the House, there are two points on which I would welcome clarity or further consideration by Ministers. A few Members have mentioned the importance of looking at our cyber-resilience in a more holistic manner. Although technical security and safety are very important, and the Bill goes a long way to addressing those matters, it could perhaps be strengthened by looking at our digital sovereignty.”
“The impact that the attacks had on not only those businesses, but the wider supply chains and local economies, is significant. As the Minister said when he opened the debate, it is estimated that some £14.7 billion is lost to the UK economy annually due to cyber-attacks, which is the equivalent of 0.5% of GDP, so it is right that the Government act to address these risks and harms. In doing so, the Government comply with one of the calls of the strategic defence review, which stated that the world has changed and, in listing the other, more conventional threats that the country faces, specified that daily cyber-attacks at home are something we need to take very seriously. The Government are right to bring forward the Bill.”
“It is a pleasure to speak on Second Reading of the Bill. I am very pleased to say that I support the Government’s introduction of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill and welcome it as a very important first step in strengthening the protections of the UK’s critical national infrastructure and because it addresses many of the gaps that have been identified in numerous implementation reviews in recent years. Other right hon. and hon. Members have made the point that the risk and harm inflicted by cyber-attacks are significant and very real. Others have cited their impact on a whole host of businesses and industrial sectors and on society. We have heard about the harm inflicted on NHS services, for example, and many Members have referred to the attacks on JLR, the Co-op and Marks & Spencer.”
“Does the Treasury subscribe to the general commitment that the Government have made to ensure that all policymaking considers the impact of decisions on rural areas? If it does subscribe to that rural-proofing commitment, will the Minister elaborate on how he will ensure that it is abided by in future so that rural communities, such as those in Ceredigion Preseli, are not subjected to yet another ordeal such as we have just endured?”
“Like the Foreign Secretary, I shed no tears for the fall of the Maduro regime. However, I have fears about the precedent set by President Trump’s actions over the weekend. What is the Foreign Secretary’s assessment for global stability if dictators and despots across the world take a very simple lesson from the US’s actions this weekend—that might is right?”
“Family Business UK estimates that in my constituency these changes alone will lead to the loss of some 250 jobs and deliver a £13 million hit to my constituency’s gross value added. There is a real danger with these changes that the Government will deliver incredibly long-lasting harm to small businesses across the country, especially in rural areas. It is particularly disappointing that the Government have refused to pause, at least, these changes so that they can properly understand the impact that they will have on rural areas. Many figures and statistics have been bandied about in the many debates that we have had in the past months about the prevailing facts of these changes, but the Government have not undertaken a full impact assessment, as follows most policy decisions that they take.”
“Much has already been said in the debate about the changes to the agricultural property relief and the business property relief, and the concerns that these changes have caused for small businesses and small family farms across the United Kingdom. We have heard other Members, particularly the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), eloquently speak on this matter. As he mentioned, we have already seen how these proposals have changed the way in which our small businesses, particularly farm businesses, operate. Some 55% of small businesses and 49% of farm businesses have already cancelled proposed investment projects in anticipation of the changes.”
“If I reflect briefly on the structure of the economy of the constituency, it is perhaps no surprise that they should be so worried about the measures in this Budget. As of March this year, there were some 5,500 businesses registered in Ceredigion Preseli—that number may well be slightly lower by next March—and 81% of them are classified as small businesses, with fewer than 50 employees, which makes Ceredigion Preseli the small business capital of Wales. It is a rural and coastal constituency, so the industries of agriculture and hospitality are key pillars of our economy. Indeed, 35% of all businesses are classified as being in the agricultural, forestry or fishing sector.”
“I am pleased to speak in this debate on the Finance (No. 2) Bill. I have now spoken in most of the Finance Bill debates since I was first elected to represent the people of Ceredigion in 2017, and subsequently, since last year, I now also represent the good people of Preseli, in north Pembrokeshire. In advance of all Finance Bill debates I make the effort to consult widely with my communities, in particular with the small businesses that form such an important part of the economy in my constituency. In all the years that I have served as a Member of Parliament, never has the sense of fear, the lack of confidence and the uncertainty been so palpable when I have met businesses in my constituency.”
“That would have done a world of good and given much-needed confidence to an industry and sector that are suffering dreadfully at the moment with the cumulative impact of different price increases as well as new taxes. A VAT cut on hospitality would have been very much welcome.”
“Although my constituency is only 170-odd miles from Westminster and Whitehall, where many of these decisions are dreamt up and subsequently implemented on us, we may as well live on the moon, such is the disconnect between the policies that are sometimes made here and the impact that they have on the ground. There is a lack of effort to try to understand why so many businesses and people in my communities are so fearful about the impact that these proposals will have on their lives. Let me add that some 15% of all jobs in my constituency are in hospitality. There was a missed opportunity in this Budget for the Government to look again at the VAT for hospitality.”
“I very much agree with the right hon. Member. That is a point of real bemusement and confusion for many of my constituents. The Government have not looked for or sought compromise or engaged with the alternative proposals presented by the NFU and the Farmers Union of Wales. Some consensus is to be found, if only the Government would budge and were willing to compromise ever so slightly, so that they can achieve the objectives they so eloquently pointed out are the intention of the policy without sacrificing hundreds if not thousands of family farms and businesses across rural Britain, particularly in my constituency. That probably underlines a growing sense that I have had.”
“One does not need to be an expert on Wales to understand that as wonderful as Aberystwyth is, it is not quite the same sort of hotspot as St Mary Street in Cardiff, or Swansea for that matter. If the Government and HMRC will be taking ownership of, and responsibility for, the VOA from next April, I very much hope that one of the first things they will do is look at some of those inconsistencies. At the moment, as I say, some of these decisions are so disconnected from reality that we might as well be living on the moon.”
“The town council of Aberystwyth has done a lot of work in recent months on trying to find out why so many retail premises on the high street have been vacated and are empty. Time after time, businesses say that the business rates are just too high, so it did some research and found that on average, a business paying the zone A rates levied on retail properties in Aberystwyth town centre would expect to pay £525 per square metre. The town council then looked at other towns and cities in Wales and found that a retail business on St Mary Street in Cardiff would be paying £460 per square metre for zone A rates, and a premises on the Kingsway in Swansea would be paying £180 per square metre.”
“That is on top of the higher employment costs generated by this Government’s decisions on employer’s national insurance and all the other inflationary costs in terms of energy and goods. The Valuation Office Agency will come under HMRC from next April, if I have understood things correctly. I very much hope that the Government and HMRC will avail themselves of the opportunity to ensure greater consistency and clarity—and, dare I say, transparency—in the way that the VOA works and these valuations are calculated. It is a very technical, complicated and murky way of addressing and calculating business rates. There is such a discrepancy in Wales that I must finish my remarks by bringing it to the attention of the House.”
“I very much agree; that takes me neatly to my next point. The Government have failed in their Budget to acknowledge the many increasing and cumulative pressures on hospitality and pub businesses in particular. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) referred to significant increases in the rateable value of a pub in her constituency, and I have also been contacted in recent days by hospitality businesses, such as a pub that has just been informed of a 131% increase in its rateable value. The pub is now waiting to understand what exactly that means for its business rates bill, but the fear that it will find itself having to pay a great deal more in the coming years than it previously did is very much well-founded.”
“I am pleased to hear the Minister confirm that the Government are supporting the work of the International Criminal Court’s investigations of the commanders implicated in the atrocities. Will he reassure us that the Government will waste no time in bringing further sanctions against individuals when charges are brought, and encourage international partners to do likewise?”
“I would urge caution, though, that those summits seem to prioritise the potential economic benefits of AI and prioritise growth. I think we have the growth side of things sorted, but we need to focus again on the safety. A global consensus and a prohibition on superintelligence until we can understand and control it would be a great benefit to society.”
“It is no wonder that leading AI experts Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio have called for a prohibition on research and development of superintelligence until there is a broad scientific consensus that it can be done safely and with some degree of human and democratic control. To be effective, however, such a prohibition must be global. We must have the buy-in of the big AI powers: not just the EU, but the United States and China. In that regard, I wish to lay a challenge before the Minister. The UK Government can lead in those efforts by using their unique convening power—as was demonstrated in 2023—to bring those AI superpowers together for an AI safety summit. I appreciate that following the 2023 Bletchley Park summit there have been subsequent summits, including one in Paris, and that there is one coming up in Delhi.”
“I am very concerned that the apparent arms race we are witnessing—with various big AI and tech companies heading towards superintelligence and other advanced AI models—means that we do not have that democratic control, as the hon. Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) so eloquently put it, over things that could have real impact on the lives of our constituents, our society, and indeed civilisation more broadly. As the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley outlined in his speech, we have already found some advanced models deploying techniques to try to avoid human control. Apollo Research found examples of one of OpenAI’s models trying to deceive users to accomplish its goals and, perhaps most worryingly, to disable monitoring mechanisms and guardrails. Those are real risks to the development of AI and things that we should take seriously.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) for securing this very important debate, and for outlining so impressively both the real benefits that have already been realised by narrow AI systems and the potential benefits, but also, perhaps most importantly, the real risks to human safety and security that more advanced systems pose. I should like to make one very simple point in my remarks: while we need to recognise the benefits of AI and the development of various models, we should adopt a safety-first approach, especially when it comes to the development of more advanced AI systems.”
“I also associate myself with the Minister’s comments. My thoughts are very much with the people of Monmouthshire as they try to get their lives back on track. She rightly mentioned the increasing frequency of severe weather events. Further to the very wise words of the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis), in addition to collaboration between the two Governments, in light of the increasing frequency of severe weather events, I wonder whether it is time for us to consider a central resilience fund to provide the additional emergency support that is sadly becoming far too routine?”
“I echo the Foreign Secretary’s horror at the slaughter in El Fasher, and I share her concern that further atrocities will take place unless the international community can secure decisive intervention. With that in mind, what response has there been to Friday’s resolution from the warring parties? How do the Government, in conjunction with their international partners, intend to apply pressure on the parties to comply with not only the resolution, but international law?”
“I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State confirm that the nations and regions will form a very important part of the BBC charter review. To that end, she will know that over 90% of S4C’s funding is derived from the BBC licence fee. In the process of the BBC charter review, will the financial stability of S4C be a key consideration for the Government?”
“The Minister has rightly emphasised the importance of securing the swift and urgent supply of aid to all those in need in Gaza, but he has also mentioned that some of the crossings remain disrupted or fully closed. What reasons have been given for the continued delay in reopening all the crossings?”
“I am grateful to my friend the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) for bringing forward this important debate. I agree wholeheartedly with the arguments that he has made, as do many of the funeral directors in my constituency. I impress on him and the Minister that those funeral directors want a licensing regime. As the hon. Member has explained so eloquently, the trade bodies can only do so much, but a licensing regime would ensure a minimum standard, and we could all hope that the rest would try to excel and become members of the trade bodies in due course.”
“The Minister mentions the Mining Remediation Authority. I commend it for the work that it has commenced to address another hazard of our mining legacy: that of metal mines and lead pollution in particular. Does the Minister think that the work we are doing on coal might serve as a template for dealing with the historic legacy and problem of lead mines? Sadly, many of them are located in my constituency.”
“Scotland is the only part of the United Kingdom where child poverty is falling, and it is also the only part of Great Britain with a non-Labour Government. I am sure the Minister agrees that the rest of the UK deserves better, so will she be calling on the Chancellor to scrap the two-child cap in the upcoming Budget?”
“In my constituency, some 3,300 jobs are supported by its universities—that is 10% of all jobs—and it is a real concern that we hear so little about universities’ current quandary.”
“According to a report by Confederation of British Industry Economics, it is estimated that 55% of family businesses and 49% of farm businesses are cancelling proposed investment projects in anticipation of those changes. Small businesses in rural and coastal areas need a little bit of hope and confidence from this Government. Rural-proofing as a stage in policy development, and a dedicated strategy for the redevelopment of rural areas, would go some way to restoring that faith. In the short time I have left, I will touch briefly on the importance of our higher education sector. Universities and higher education institutions must play a critical role in any strategy for ensuring growth across every part of the United Kingdom.”
“This is quite typical for rural areas, where small businesses—especially in the agricultural, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors—drive the local economy. It would be very welcome if the Government looked again at a policy that used to be in place. I was told yesterday by a former civil servant that back in the Tony Blair Government, one stage in the development of any policy in Whitehall was called rural-proofing—a consideration of the impact of the policy on rural contexts. If that had been reintroduced, I do not think we would have had the inheritance tax changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief, which are already causing great concern.”
“According to the Office for National Statistics, if current trends continue, 30% of the population of Pembrokeshire and a third of the population of Ceredigion will be older than 65 by the year 2040, which is just 15 years away. I need not explain to hon. Members just how challenging it will to not only maintain the vibrancy of our communities, but ensure effective provision of the wide range of public services that any civilised community and society expects. In a renewed emphasis, focus and perhaps even strategy on rural and coastal economies, the Government would do well to recognise the importance of small businesses to these communities. In Ceredigion Preseli, some 81% of our over 5,500 businesses are classified as small businesses, and have fewer than 50 employees.”
“It is an honour to contribute to the Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate. I shall limit myself to a topic that is very important for my constituency of Ceredigion Preseli: the future of coastal rural economies. I shall make the case for a renewed emphasis and focus on the redevelopment and regeneration of those economies, not least because that would go a long way to addressing the Government’s aspiration for growth across the United Kingdom, but also because it would help address a demographic trend that already poses severe challenges for the provision of public services in those areas, and that, if left unarrested, could become critical. Ceredigion Preseli, like many other constituencies, has an ageing population. The trend is particularly pronounced in my constituency.”
“I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State explain in evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee last week that Wales will receive a Barnett consequential of some £200 million as a result of transport announcements for English mayoral combined authority areas made in the lead up to the spending review. Could the Secretary of State clarify whether she was referring to the transport for city regions funding, which was announced on 4 June? The Chief Secretary to the Treasury stated in an answer to a written question that it was not possible to identify the specific Barnett consequential arising from that programme.”
“Given that certain UN initiatives and efforts to address this humanitarian catastrophe have encountered a degree of reluctance, if not opposition, from states such as Russia, I was pleased to hear the Minister say that the Government are working closely with regional partners. Will she elaborate on the work that is being done to support countries such as Egypt and multilateral organisations like the African Union to address this humanitarian crisis and, if not to broker a ceasefire, to ensure the unblocking of humanitarian aid?”
“The Secretary of State will know that communities in Wales, as across the UK, have been proud to welcome those Afghans and their families who served alongside UK personnel. Many colleagues have raised concern about the Afghans who might remain in Afghanistan or in adjacent countries and may still be in danger for their services rendered. How confident can we be that all those in severe and imminent danger of reprisals will receive invitations for resettlement?”
“Q13. My constituent Mr Brian Buckle is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. He was wrongfully imprisoned for over five years before being exonerated at retrial. Despite a jury unanimously finding him not guilty of the crimes for which he was imprisoned, and the devasting impact the injustice continues to have on him and his family, his application for compensation was denied due to a 2014 change to the law that requires those who have been wrongfully imprisoned to prove their innocence beyond all reasonable doubt. That is an almost impossible hurdle to overcome. Will the Prime Minister consider meeting Mr Buckle to discuss his case, and lend his support to APPEAL’s campaign for fair compensation for those who have been victims of a miscarriage of justice?”