Jim Dickson

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584 held · 567 searchable for Jim Dickson. The searchable lines are below in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 10.

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1. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this important debate, and the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for so ably setting out the issues that our constituents face. Dartford, perhaps unlike many city centre constituencies, is not necessarily somewhere that would be associated with high levels of building safety problems, but we continue to see issues, including new and previously unidentified ones. The key point I want to make is about the length of time it continues to take to resolve these issues.”

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2. “I thank my hon. Friend for her statement. I was glad to be part of the Committee, which looked at ways in which we could start to make the student finance system fairer. On the issue of whether we should reverse the threshold repayment freeze, we looked at a number of ways in which we could change the financing system to make it fairer—for instance, by freezing or even cutting the interest rate cap—and reversing the threshold repayment freeze was the best way to get help to the great majority of those repaying loans, no matter what their income. Does my hon. Friend agree?”

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3. “John has also experienced delays and dysfunctions with his facial surgery, which he is currently undergoing with the support of surgeons and doctors. John’s case illustrates how much we have to do to spread knowledge about sepsis and to improve care for those who have it. As others have done, I commend the campaigning work of Lord Mackinlay of Richborough, who has not only helped to raise awareness of sepsis in our health system, but has met John and provided encouragement to him in his recovery journey.”

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4. “Notwithstanding this great community effort, there remains so much to do to improve post-infection support for people like John. I have been privileged to have kept in touch with John and Karen during John’s exceptionally brave recovery journey. When we met in July, he told me of the exceptionally long delay he was experiencing in receiving his new prosthetic hand. John was cast for the prosthetic at the end of last year, but due to issues relating to the move of his local prosthetic centre, it was not assembled, leaving him worried that his body may change and the prosthetic would not fit. The challenges that causes are compounded by the fact that he cannot have the casting for the second prosthetic hand until he has had the first one for a year—a timer that has not yet been able to start.”

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5. “It was unclear if John would survive, and the coma lasted for two weeks, during which time John was transferred from Darent Valley hospital in Dartford up to St Thomas’s just across the river from where we are now. After a month, thankfully, John pulled through. But this good news was accompanied by the desperately difficult decision from his doctors that he needed to have a quadruple amputation. He has received amazing support from the Dartford community, which has rallied round to help fund support for his family. A special mention must go to the wonderful Dartford working men’s club, led by the amazing Nick Byram. The club not only held fundraisers for the family but has held sepsis awareness events to ensure that more people know the symptoms.”

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6. “I was pleased to welcome my constituent, John Snow, to Parliament last year and am extremely appreciative that he is with us today in the Gallery, alongside his wife Karen and his daughter Gracie. John developed sepsis in 2024. After first believing he was suffering with muscle pain, the situation rapidly deteriorated, resulting in hospital admission with heart attack-like symptoms and his lips turning blue. John and Karen were not aware at this point that John had many of the signs of sepsis. Within hours, his kidneys had shut down, needing dialysis, and his body went into septic shock with doctors putting him into an induced coma.”

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7. “I am pleased to co-sponsor the debate alongside the hon. Members for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) and for Ashfield (Lee Anderson), both of whom are fellow officers of the all-party parliamentary group on sepsis. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire for that amazingly moving and revealing speech and for sharing his experience in a way that I hope all Members will take note of and that will make a difference to the way the Government take these issues forward. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this debate on Sepsis Awareness Month, with World Sepsis Day having taken place on Sunday.”

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8. “Office for National Statistics data indicates that sepsis was mentioned on the death certificate in 27,971 deaths in England in 2025, but that is almost certainly not the full story.”

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9. “I thought it would be helpful to remind all those present and anybody watching of the signs to look out for in adults, as set out by the UK Sepsis Trust: slurred speech or confusion; extreme shivering or muscle pain; passing no urine in a day; severe breathlessness; it feels like you are going to die; and skin mottled or discoloured. If you or another adult develops any of those signs, it is important to seek urgent medical attention. John’s story highlights both the work we need to do to raise awareness of the early signs of sepsis and how we support those who have been diagnosed with it. There remains too little data on sepsis, with inconsistencies in the definitions used across the country.”

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10. “What the hon. Member and I have described is the mark of the man. Not only has he suffered that appalling setback in his life, come through it with huge brio and is an active Member of the other place, he has gone the extra mile to help others in the same predicament. I cannot thank him enough for the work he has done for those who have experienced sepsis and for my constituent John. As Craig himself would say, sepsis remains something we do not know enough about, and what knowledge we have is not as widely known as it should be.”

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11. “I hope the Minister will outline how the modern service framework will change the way the NHS supports John and others recovering from sepsis, so that the delays he has experienced in getting his prosthetics and the delays other people have experienced in the system become a thing of the past.”

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12. “Absolutely. The data problems are much wider than simply understanding who has died with sepsis as a related cause and who has suffered sepsis at some point in the system. All the prevention and early diagnosis issues that my hon. Friend has highlighted go to the heart of the problems we have with data, and I hope the Minister will address that in her response. I very much welcome the sepsis modern service framework, which was published last July and contains a much-needed plan to improve prevention, recognition, diagnosis, treatment and recovery for people affected by sepsis. It should mean that doctors are equipped to spot sepsis sooner and improve outcomes for patients like John and others who have been mentioned this evening.”

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13. “Will the Minister’s Department engage with the authorities in Turkey to discuss the prospect of a prosecution and how evidence might be transferred? I appreciate that the Minister may not be able to say everything that she might wish to here in the Chamber, so would she be willing to meet with me, the family and their barrister to discuss the issues that I have raised today in more detail? At the time of his death, George’s daughter was eight months old. I understand that now, aged 10, she looks very much like him—a sweet reminder to George’s family. It is my abiding wish in this case that George’s daughter must not grow to be an adult without seeing justice for her dad.”

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14. “I believe that the UK Government can play a key role in securing justice for the Low family, given the strong relationship that they have with both Turkey and Cyprus and their long-standing position as one of the guarantor powers of Cyprus’ independence and territorial integrity. I am grateful to the Minister for her time today. I will now set out the questions that I hope she can answer. First, could she provide any clarity on the request that was made by the Ministry of Justice in Turkey to the UK Government for legal assistance and why it has not been answered? Secondly, will the UK Government make a request to the Cypriot authorities to release the evidence they hold in this case to assist a prosecution in another jurisdiction? I understand that were the suspects in the UK, a prosecution may be possible here.”

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15. “The BBC report also includes the claim that a request for legal assistance in connection with the investigation had been made by the Turkish Ministry of Justice to the UK, but that it had not received a response. The family are keen to assist Turkey and to receive an update from the Turkish authorities. Regrettably, our repeated requests for a meeting with the Turkish embassy have not yet provided any result. One of the suspects is, I understand, a dual Bulgarian-Turkish national. I appreciate the willingness of the Bulgarian embassy to meet with my predecessor, the previous MP for Dartford.”

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16. “He has repeatedly written to the Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus over the last 11 months to ask that they release the evidence they possess to the family, but he has not yet received a response. Recent news coverage, including by the BBC, has included confirmation from the Ministry of Justice in Turkey that “the investigation was referred to the Hatay Public Prosecutor’s Office which has subsequently issued a decision of non-prosecution (no grounds to proceed) in respect of Mr Mehmet Akpınar.” The report does not include any comment on the second suspect, which I hope may be some grounds for optimism that his prosecution in Turkey may still remain possible.”

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17. “It remains the case that there is no extradition treaty in place between Turkey and Cyprus to allow the suspects to be sent there for trial. Additionally, the constitution in Turkey specifically prohibits the extradition of their citizens for any offence. That makes the prospect of a trial taking place in Cyprus limited, despite the Cypriot authorities possessing evidence that seemingly would make a prosecution possible. The Low family have been ably supported by the organisation Justice Abroad and barrister Michael Polak, whom I am pleased is in the Gallery tonight. They are acting pro bono, and Michael’s expertise in this complex situation is greatly appreciated.”

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18. “Both suspects have faced trials in the north for crimes related to illegal entry violations and have served time in prison as a result, but were not extradited to the south to face trial for George’s murder. One suspect was then deported back to Turkey, and the other ended up in Turkey via a circuitous route. The one trial that has taken place related to the murder was of the girlfriend of one of the suspects—Mehmet Akpınar. She faced trial in 2016 for the assistance provided to him after the murder took place and would, I hope, be a witness in any potential trial. The diplomatic situation in Cyprus and with Turkey remains extremely difficult, and there is limited co-operation between the two communities in Cyprus.”

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19. “The police collected substantial evidence from the incident—including, I understand, the knives used—but before any arrests could take place, the two suspects fled across the border to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Despite their arrests for a series of different offences, they were not handed back to the Republic of Cyprus for trial. That same week, George’s parents made the first of a number of visits to Cyprus, beginning their fight for justice for George. It is believed that both suspects later made their way to Turkey, where, as far as we know, they remain to this day. Since 2016, there have been two inquests: one here and one in Cyprus, which the family attended.”

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20. “George had worked in Ayia Napa previously, but was back in the UK beginning what looked like it was going to be a highly successful career with the Acorn Group estate agents, which paid a touching tribute to him after his death. The inquest into George’s murder, which took place in Maidstone several years later, heard how a dispute occurred in the area near The Bell pub in the early hours of 14 August 2016. After this disagreement, two men returned with a knife, resulting in George being stabbed in the neck and tragically dying. The names of the two suspects, Mehmet Akpınar and Sali Ahmet, have been widely reported since that time. George’s friend, Ben Barker, was also stabbed four times in the back, but thankfully survived. I pay tribute to Ben’s family for their continued support to get justice for George.”

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21. “He pursued every avenue he could to support the Low family, and I pay tribute to him. I want to speak tonight about the attack on George and his friend Ben, what we know about the subsequent events, and the very difficult context in which this case sits. I have tried to keep the information to which I will remain to material that is already in the public domain. George, who was only 22 years old on the night of his murder, was holidaying with friends in Ayia Napa, in the south-east of Cyprus, as many people from the UK continue to do. It was the last night of his holiday, and he was coming home to the UK the next day.”

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22. “I am grateful to have the opportunity this evening, just before we rise for recess, to raise the case of George Low, a Dartford resident who was tragically murdered in Cyprus in August 2016—now 10 years ago. Before I give an outline of the case, I want to pay tribute to George’s parents, Martyn and Helen Low, who are with us tonight in the Gallery. Since my election two years ago, I have had the opportunity to meet them, and I never fail to be struck by their dignity and determination to seek justice for their son. I also want to mention my predecessor as Member of Parliament for Dartford, Gareth Johnson, who I have spoken to in depth about this terrible case. He raised it repeatedly with Ministers in the previous Government and travelled to Cyprus himself to seek action.”

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23. “I thank the Minister for his statement and for his great work in securing the deal. I particularly welcome the fact that the call he received in Hyde Park while the Scissor Sisters were playing has enabled him to cut red tape in our trade relationship with Switzerland. The acid test for the six free trade agreements that have been achieved since 2024, including this deal, is whether they make my constituents in Dartford and constituents right across the country better off. I hope that the Minister is able to confirm that will be the case.”

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24. “I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement and for the work that she and the Prime Minister have done at the NATO summit. May I register my huge concern, and that of my constituents, that the ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be over, due to the egregious breaches by Iran? The situation has escalated, with the US taking military action. May I ask for reassurance that those who helped to bring about the first ceasefire, including the UK, by working very closely with allies behind the scenes, will now do everything to try to bring about a new ceasefire, so that we can get a deal in place that will lead to a permanent peace? That will be good for the region and much better for the UK and the world economy.”

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25. “One of the great underacknowledged dimensions to young people’s excessive use of social media and its effect on their mental health is the loss of such opportunities. We owe it to young people in Dartford and across the country to give young people back the chance to grow, to take risks and to unlock their talent.”

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26. “It rightly promised a place-based approach to rebuilding a local offer for young people, and I hope that for Dartford it will mean more sports facilities such as a rebuilt Swanscombe Pavilion and more youth provision in the town centre. I hugely welcome the youth guarantee. The challenges faced by young people getting into the early stages of a career come through in the people I meet and the stories I hear across Dartford. It is welcome that Dartford will host one of the Government’s new youth hubs, providing access to expanded employment and wraparound support services. But we need to go further, as others have said, to rebuild the youth services lost over the past decade and a half, and to give young people a chance to meet, create, play sport and learn.”

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27. “Ahead of the Government’s very welcome national youth strategy last year, it was a pleasure for me to work with the YMCA to host an event to discuss with our Dartford young people what they wanted to see in the strategy. The concerns they shared at the event were many and varied. They worry about their futures: how they will find affordable housing, cope with the cost of living and deal with growing challenges to their mental health and to their sense of community in a digital age. There was a strong feeling in the room that their generation needed better public transport, access to more varied job opportunities locally, and more places for them and other young people to come together. Last year’s national youth strategy was a wonderful document.”

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28. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) on securing this important debate. In Dartford and our towns and villages we have an increasingly youthful population, with a quarter of households in the constituency comprising a family with children. Our young people do our community proud, from our brilliant Kent youth county councillors, including Madalena, Amelia, Sam, Stephan and Flourish; our Dartford youth councillors; Heritage, who got to the final of Monday’s Poetry by Heart national competition; and so many others who star in our cultural and sporting life. And let us not forget eight-year-old Ruth, who wrote a brilliant and persuasive handwritten letter to me last week about YouTube.”

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29. “I thank the Minister for his statement. He may recall that in a Westminster Hall debate on 4 February many of us raised cases of affected constituents. I spoke about four Dartford residents who were unable to access their civil service pensions. Two of those cases remain completely unresolved, and one has been only recently resolved. Does the Minister agree that our civil service pensioners deserve much better than this and that, of the tough measures he has announced today—I thank him for those—taking the contract away from Capita must be firmly on the table?”

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30. “Constituents in Dartford are also pleased that our area has been chosen as one of the local authorities to receive a youth hub. We have a growing population of under-25s, all of whom are talented and enthusiastic and want to get into the workplace. Will the Secretary of State set out when that hub is likely to open, what services will be available and what difference it will make to the lives of young people in Dartford?”

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31. “I thank the Minister for the statement, and the Government’s clear objective to ensure that hotels are eliminated from our asylum accommodation system and that military bases become a short-term stopgap. Can he reassure us all that the Government will continue to focus very closely on processing people more quickly and ensuring that those not eligible to stay here are deported as soon as possible, so that the use of the military bases announced today, which are already up and running, is a temporary measure for as short a period as possible?”

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32. “Mr Speaker, I know that looking at me you would never guess that my children are now well past school age, but when they were at school—long past Jamie Oliver’s campaign against turkey twizzlers—the school food served was still not as healthy as it should have been, so I am delighted by the Minister’s assurance that the Government have consulted on the first update to school food standards in a decade. I am, however, slightly puzzled by the phased approach to improving the drinks served in secondary schools until September 2028. Will the Government consider speeding up the timetable and moving towards alignment with primary schools, so that we do not miss a crucial opportunity to improve the health of our young people?”

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33. “T6. In Kent, the county council has adopted a community of schools model for the allocation of high-needs funding, but schools in Dartford are concerned that that has led to a situation in which access to funding is unfair, inconsistent and unpredictable. It has left them unable to plan for the future, because they cannot be confident about how much funding they will receive. Will the Minister look at the model that Kent county council has adopted to ensure that it conforms with the high-needs funding operational guidance and the dedicated schools grant condition?”

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34. “I join the Secretary of State in sending condolences to the family of Shaun Burton, who died in the accident, in wishing those who are injured a speedy and full recovery, and in thanking the emergency services for their prompt action on Friday. It is important that we have heard from the Secretary of State that a full investigation is ongoing and that all lessons will be learned in order to avoid a repeat. Can the Secretary of State reassure my constituents that the disruption to Thameslink services south of the Thames, arising from the partial line closure, including temporary interruption of services from Rainham through Dartford to Luton, will last no longer than is necessary for the full investigation to take place?”

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35. “My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech on an important issue. As he will know, the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 recently came on to the statute book, which I hugely support as a member of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health. There is a licensing scheme under that Act, enabling local authorities to have more control over shops that sell products such as tobacco and vapes. There will be a clear method to facilitate the reduction of those shops on our high streets. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important for the Department of Health and Social Care to get on with the consultation on that licensing scheme as soon as possible?”

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36. “For far too long, Dartford residents have put up with very poor performance and high water bills. It is extremely likely that Thames Water leaks contributed to the collapse of the Galley Hill road in 2023, as a result of which Swanscombe residents have been pretty much trapped in their town over the past three years. As the Secretary of State has said, it is vital that the company does not have its performance standards diluted or receives protection from fines as a consequence of the deal that is on the table. Does she agree that any deal must put consumers and environmental protections first, and that investors should not benefit at the expense of billpayers and vital infrastructure improvements?”

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37. “I thank the Secretary of State for his update and welcome him to his place. I join him in paying tribute to the exceptional bravery and skill of those who carried out the recent operation on the shadow fleet. Does he agree that it is vital that we continue to squeeze the Russian economy in every way we can, including many more operations of that kind against the shadow fleet, so that we can ultimately support Ukraine in a successful outcome in resisting Putin’s illegal war?”

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38. “Residents of Darenth and other parts of my constituency are facing persistent nuisance owing to the antisocial riding of motorbikes and quad bikes in local woodlands over the last few years. I know from my conversations with the new district commander for Dartford and Gravesham that the police are starting to use the powers in the Crime and Policing Act to seize and crush vehicles and issue community protection notices to offenders. Can the Minister tell Dartford residents how those new powers, and other Government measures, will finally tackle this antisocial behaviour at source?”

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39. “I thank the parents, teachers and young people in Dartford who came together with me at the end of last month to discuss how to take action against what social media companies are engaged in, which has been described as the great rewiring of our childhood. I was pleased to be able to provide a report to the Minister’s Department after that engagement. There was near consensus that we want to see age restriction on social media access, a digital age of consent on data access and more guidance for parents and families from trusted sources. Does the Minister agree that it is vital that we take steps in all those areas, as well as the welcome announcement today on smartphones?”

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40. “Last week during the hot weather, George Cuckoo, a young man in my constituency who was much loved and admired by family and friends, tragically lost his life in a small lake. He was one of about 15 people, many of them young, across the country who lost their lives in water-related incidents. I am sure that the thoughts of us all remain with his family and friends and others across the country who lost loved ones. Will the Leader of the House join me in sending condolences on their loss to George’s family, and will he, as our hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) asked earlier, consider making time for a debate on how we can prevent the tragic loss of young lives in this way through measures to raise water safety awareness and to improve swimming capacity for young people at primary school and beyond?”

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41. “I thank my hon. Friend for the excellent speech that he is making on a really important debate. My constituency, similar to his, has a range of small towns with different access to modes of transport. One of them is Swanscombe, home to the collapsed Galley Hill Road, which I have mentioned several times. Its train station is in a deep chalk cutting, and there is no accessibility. Does he agree that it is about not just having modes of transport, but making them accessible to all?”

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42. “Residents in Dartford, like those across Kent, are experiencing poor service and increased bills—including residents in Ebbsfleet, who have to pay an additional sum for waste water to flow from their community into the Thames. That is charged for by the Port of London Authority; it is called dewatering, and it is incredibly unfair to those residents. They ask me continually why it is acceptable for this poor performance to occur and for water executives to continue to pay themselves large bonuses. What work is going on to tighten the regulations so that reward matches performance?”

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43. “In my constituency, major Government-funded infrastructure projects are providing strong opportunities for young people, including skills training, permanent jobs and careers. Does the Minister agree that as we renew our homes, bridges, crossings, railways and infrastructure, we have to maximise the opportunities for young people?”

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44. “He has recently received severely disjointed care, including discharge without medication or a letter, unsafe transport, and a lack of co-ordinated follow-up to provide physiotherapy or monitor his range of conditions. The result has been a major worsening of his health and quality of life. We must urgently bring in proper patient-centred care for Frank and so many others. I have two final concerns. The winding up of NHS England must ensure that more resources are available and that decisions are made at or near the frontline. With the abolition of Healthwatch, independent scrutiny must not be lost. We will need to be convinced that the patient experience directorate, alongside the local service user voice, will genuinely hold the system to account.”

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45. “Above all, we need Kent and Medway ICB to recognise the speed of population increase and ensure that there is new primary care capacity to meet it so that GP practices such as Swanscombe health centre are able to cope with patient registration numbers—an extraordinary 38,000 in its case. Health infrastructure must be properly planned alongside new homes, and a test of the powers for the ICBs in this Bill must be that this happens. I also warmly welcome measures in the Bill to provide a single patient record. This new information must drive fully integrated care, the absence of which is causing worse outcomes for my residents. One of my constituents, Frank Fitzpatrick, suffers from severe coronary artery disease and a separate condition that affects his oesophagus, and he has also had a stroke.”

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46. “I warmly welcome the priority and the additional investment in our NHS over the first two years of this Government. In my constituency, we are seeing positive change with our newly opened North Kent community diagnostic centre, which is delivering vital tests and results for residents in a few short days from a great building with amazing staff. On top of that, we are seeing major investment in our local Darent Valley hospital, with £27 million being spent on a new intensive care unit. That said, there is still a long way to go to reduce the length of waits in A&E, and the hospital remains in a building that is prone to problems, as illustrated by a recent water outage that lasted several weeks and affected patient care across half the hospital.”

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47. “While I am on the topic of transport, it would be remiss of me not to mention Galley Hill Road in my constituency, the crucial route between Dartford and Gravesend, which collapsed and has been out of use for more than three years. I hope that, during this Session, Kent County Council will bid for and secure funding from the excellent new structures fund to get the road repaired and back open, so that local businesses such as MBC Despatch Racing can thrive again and Swanscombe can see an end to oversized lorries blocking its narrow roads. I welcome this King’s Speech and the Bills in it.”

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48. “We already have spades in the ground for the preparatory work on the crossing, and the new Bill should see this long-promised project finally delivered. Dartford regularly experiences traffic gridlock when there are delays at the crossing, with children unable to get home from school, missed appointments and a stifling effect on local businesses, without mentioning the terrible air quality impact of 50,000 more vehicles a day using the crossing than it was originally designed to accommodate. With this, the Government are backing lower Thames crossing businesses to succeed, including those in the lower Thames crossing consortium, which I chair, so improving vital links with our ports and creating the conditions for growth in the future.”

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49. “Of the 35 Bills mentioned in the King’s Speech, many will help to build and boost economic growth and strengthen our energy security, including the energy independence Bill and the electricity generator levy Bill, which seek to break the link between electricity and gas prices by moving older generators on to new fixed price contracts. One of the Bills particularly welcome to my constituents is the highways (financing) Bill, which will for the first time set out how the Government can use the regulated asset base funding model used in sectors such as energy to build new large-scale road schemes. Crucially for me and the people of Dartford, the new lower Thames crossing will be the first project built on this model, using private capital to get this vital scheme built.”

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50. “I am grateful for the opportunity to speak today, because it is vital that we make the transition to a new era of clean energy, driving our nation’s energy security forward, while rebuilding our public services and backing businesses to help them to grow. One of the most telling themes that emerge from what businesses in my constituency tell me at our regular roundtable meetings is the slowness of our country to create the infrastructure that its economy needs to succeed and underpin that transition to clean energy.”

    House of Commons19 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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