Anna Dixon
MP for Shipley · Labour · United Kingdom
“I commend the organisers of the national emergency briefing, which I attended last year, as well as the local organisers of the people’s emergency briefing in Shipley. The climate and nature crisis is an emergency.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. She has spoken about some of the impacts of this issue. My 80-odd-year-old mum was recently admitted to Airedale hospital with acute respiratory issues. She had to wait in a chair for over 12 hours, alongside my dad, in a very undignified way. Does my hon.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that it is not about fixing the problem at the front door; it is about fixing the problem at the back door. Does she agree that closer integration of health and social care is part of the answer to enable that flow through hospitals out into the community?”
“I commend the hon. Gentleman for speaking so clearly about why having an independent HSSIB—independent of those providers—to investigate is so important. Time and again, we hear about devastating failings in the NHS. He alludes to maternity services, but we could add to the list infected blood and pelvic mesh.”
“I thank my hon. Friend and her Committee for the excellent work that they have done in preparation for this Bill. Pensioners who bought retirement flats in Aire Valley Court and Sutton Court in my constituency were hoping for peace of mind; instead, they have had rocketing service charges, poor maintenance and a lack of communication and…”
“I was moved to hear about Jo Cox’s life and the impact of her work on women globally in last week’s debate. She was a strong advocate for women’s rights and overseas development aid.”
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“Renters are no longer worried, thanks to secure tenure under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Children have been lifted out of poverty and families have been supported through the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026, which removed the cruel two-child benefit cap. We now have stronger safeguards through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Workers are no longer on exploitative zero-hours contracts thanks to the Employment Rights Act 2025. I returned to my constituency buoyed up, ready to take the positive message to the doors alongside hard-working Labour councillors defending their seats and a new group of enthusiastic candidates, some standing for the first time. All of them were prepared to stand up for their communities and be a strong voice in City Hall.”
“I would like to begin my congratulating my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah), on her humorous and passionate opening speech. It is a true privilege to sit alongside her and, together with Madam Deputy Speaker, to represent our shared home of Bradford. I would also like to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), though he is not currently in his seat, for demonstrating his commitment to meeting his personal goals—and no, I am not talking about getting a PB in the marathon, but about hitting 400 contributions in Parliament. Just 10 days ago, I stood in the other place for the Prorogation of Parliament and proudly heard an account given of the many things that this Labour Government achieved in their first parliamentary Session.”
“We must now push on and be bolder and more ambitious in delivering for people across every community of this country and delivering a fairer society for all.”
“The vote has fragmented, and people have stopped tactical voting. Therefore, I urge the Government as part of the Representation of the People Bill to set up a democracy taskforce that will look at electoral reform for both local and Westminster elections. In conclusion, I sat today in the Royal Gallery amid much pomp and ceremony and plenty of bling. I can honestly say that it seemed a world away from the realities of my Shipley constituents: the single mom who is working two jobs and struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month; the pensioner who, despite a modest private pension, is having to cut back; and the young person living with their parents, unable to get employment, training or a place of their own. The Labour Government have begun the work of rebuilding Britain after the failures of the past.”
“I do join my hon. Friend in welcoming that measure. I recently saw Bradford City play at Valley Parade. The team has an important championship play-off match, and I hope that there will not be ticket touts selling extortionate tickets for that much sought-after match. There is still time to make the fundamental and radical changes that we desperately need. We need to show the public that we are not going to let privatised water companies profit from polluting our rivers and seas. Above all, our most urgent priority must be to renew our democracy. I welcomed the speech by my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) about how we clearly need to protect our democracy against threats. From my point of view, the local election results show clearly that two-party politics is dead.”
“Does the right hon. Gentleman recognise the need to strengthen the regional water authorities, and to have a greater focus there on the consumer voice? Would he also agree that the special administration regime for Thames Water might offer an opportunity to explore alternative public ownership, such as mutuals, where we could have workers sitting on a board alongside consumers?”
“Q6. Like many MPs, I will head up to my constituency later to campaign for the local elections. When I am out on doorstep talking to voters in the Shipley constituency, I am proud of the difference that this Labour Government are making. Renters are no longer worried thanks to secure tenure, families are supported by free breakfast clubs and extended free childcare support, and workers are no longer on exploitative zero-hour contracts. What is the Prime Minister most proud of, and what is his message for voters in my Shipley constituency and across the UK?”
“I have been contacted by residents of the Harden and Bingley Park on Goit Stock Lane in Harden. They feel trapped in their relationship with the site owner, which they have said does nothing. On the 10% commission, they want to give the whole of their estate to their family as an inheritance. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that residents feed their views into the consultation, and that we make sure that the deal between park home owners and residents is fair and proportionate?”
“As the Member for Shipley and a neighbouring constituent, I want to make those listening aware that we have attended the debate and will shortly be giving our views on the proposals, as the hon. Member invited us to do, for which I thank him.”
“Stopping their degradation must be a really big priority. That is why I welcome steps that Bradford council has taken to scale up peatland restoration on the district’s moorlands. In 2023, some £200,000 of additional funding was committed to rewet areas of the moorland. If someone goes to walk there, they can see blocked drainage ditches and things called leaky dams, which slow the flow of water.”
“I was excited to hear the first curlew of spring, one of the pleasures of walking in the upland moors, and see the lapwings doing their amazingly flamboyant mating dance. As the hon. Member has rightly highlighted, peatlands are crucial in our fight against climate change. They store a whopping 3.2 billion tonnes of CO 2 . They also reduce flood risk—something that particularly impacted constituents during the Boxing day floods over a decade ago—and support biodiversity. The Labour Government are acting to stop the decline in nature depletion. However, as we have heard, both here in the UK and around the world our peatlands have been degraded and, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, are now estimated to be a net source of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for the invitation to join him in Westminster Hall today. It is always a pleasure for me to talk about the fantastic peatlands and moors in my wonderful constituency. As we have heard, peatlands occupy about 12% of the UK land area, including many areas in my constituency: Baildon moor, Harden moor and parts of Rombalds moor. We have some wonderful upland landscapes. I recently walked up to Top Withens, which has been mentioned and has a precious place as the inspiration for “Wuthering Heights”. I took some American guests, who were very inspired by the cultural heritage in the Bradford district, which we all so enjoyed celebrating in 2025 when Bradford hosted the city of culture.”
“These investments are critical, and it is pleasing that the Labour Government are taking nature actions so seriously. In addition to those I mentioned, there is also the planting of sphagnum moss—which is quite tricky to pronounce. Bradford has recently published its climate action plan 2025-28, which outlines its comprehensive approach to working towards a low-carbon future. I also welcome steps taken by the Government at a national level with the environmental improvement plan, which was published just a few months ago. It says that we will— “Restore approximately 280,000ha of peatland in England by 2050”.”
“We must tackle climate crisis, but at a local level we must balance our need to drive forward clean energy with the detrimental potential impact.”
“I believe that is why there has been a recent announcement that large infrastructure must also be covered by a biodiversity net gain. I hope the Minister will explain how that would apply to this particular project, if it were to go ahead, and how we would ensure that the peat was protected. I urge the Government to listen to the arguments made in this debate. There could clearly be major negative impacts on our precious peatlands in this area of Yorkshire, and I ask that the Government look carefully and reconsider the proposals. I agree with the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley that it would be beneficial to extend the statutory period of consultation to allow all significant organisations that wish to feed into it to have their say. I support—as I know the Labour Government do—the protection of our special peatlands.”
“In its dying days, it seemed to attempt to create some sort of green wedge between the parties, and broke what had been a long-held consensus among at least the main political parties that we needed to tackle climate change. What I have heard from him—I will give my position shortly—is that he is opposed to the development, but he has pledged his support for clean energy, which seems at odds with some Members of his party. I shall now discuss Calderdale wind farm. I would not say it was the most overwhelming issue in my postbag, but 22 constituents have contacted me about the proposals. They rightly believe that protected peatland should be protected. I agree with them, and I think that the Labour Government, and I hope the Minister, will give the same assurance.”
“I am just coming to that part of my speech. I will first turn to wind farms, and then I will come specifically to my views on the Calderdale wind farm, which lies largely outside of my constituency. As well as restoring peatlands, which I have dwelled on in the first part of my speech, another key aspect of the comprehensive climate plan is ensuring that we invest in renewable energy. I am proud that this Government have pledged to make the UK a clean energy superpower, and as part of that have set up Great British Energy to produce cheaper and cleaner power for our country. I will briefly make a political point, as the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley also did, to remind him that his party ended a lot of the support for solar power and blocked the expansion of onshore wind.”
“I am a fairly new MP, having come in in 2024. I think that the general advice given to MPs, as to the hon. Member previously, is not to get involved in formal objections. That is the approach that I have generally taken, but I have expressed views on other planning decisions in the local area, including on some of the battery energy storage facilities. I have had significant concerns about their proximity to residential areas, not least in relation to the facility in Cullingworth. I have expressed those concerns to the Minister. The proposed location of Calderdale wind farm obviously lies outside of my constituency. I have given an impression of the number of constituents who have contacted me. I will encourage them to lodge their formal consultation responses.”
“Will the shadow Minister clarify his own party’s position? Does it remain committed to net zero, and does it acknowledge there will be a lot of nature damage if we do not make the transition swiftly to generating clean and renewable energy by 2030?”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for the Government’s actions to give local authorities powers to ban pavement parking. Does he agree that, particularly for those with disabilities or who are blind, this issue is a real problem?”
“As my hon. Friend describes, there are many vape shops across my constituency. Does he believe that in the future, powers similar to those on gambling impact assessments could be brought in to create healthier high streets through licensing powers not only for gambling but for vape shops?”
“A few moments later, her waters broke and she gave birth to her second daughter, but there was meconium in her discharge. As Members who are clinical will know, that is a sign of baby distress. The midwives called an ambulance immediately. It was another 19 minutes after the 999 call until the ambulance arrived and oxygen was given. Those minutes after birth were crucial, and that length of time without oxygen would have caused global brain damage and severe disability had their daughter survived. Sadly, she died in the care of Great Ormond Street hospital just a couple of days later. The point of telling that story is that there are many missed opportunities to provide safer care. If the midwives had carried birthing equipment when they were attending, they could have provided immediate care.”
“Alongside a better complaints system, we also talked about reform of litigation and potentially a no-fault compensation scheme, which would certainly go some way to creating a better environment. At the moment, families often experience long legal battles following harm, which leads to clinicians and organisations becoming defensive. I want to finish with a brief example of what happens when people are failed but want to share any learnings with the NHS. My friend Martha’s second child died. It was a homebirth with complications. She started labour at 2.30 am. At 5.30 am she called the delivery suite, and staff told her to call back in a few hours. When she did, they sent out a midwife team who did not reach her until 9.40 am.”
“I am a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and we have looked at how issues with that system have not only a human but a financial cost. One of our conclusions was that patients often pursue legal action because the complaints system itself is so confusing and unresponsive, which echoes the thoughts of my constituent. It is therefore vital that there are timely apologies from clinical staff and that we put in place effective, compassionate local resolutions. That will reduce claims, but is also ethically the right thing to do. I would be grateful if the Minister could update us on the progress of the David Lock KC review, which we heard a lot about at the Public Accounts Committee.”
“Sadly, it seems that midwives falsified the Apgar scores on the record and the time of the crash call. We have heard about defensive practice. We need a culture that changes it. My constituent wrote to me: “I have encountered significant barriers in navigating the NHS complaints system, particularly for marginalized communities. Language barriers further complicate the process, often leading to the dismissal of legitimate concerns.” I am pleased to say that Bradford Royal infirmary has recently received good and outstanding ratings from the Care Quality Commission, for maternity and neonatal care respectively. I know that staff are not complacent about the care they give. Others have mentioned the clinical negligence complaints system.”
“There are still some of the same issues we heard about in the King’s Fund inquiry a decade ago: poor teamwork, weak accountability, defensive cultures and a failure to translate learning into sustained action. Like many Members, I hear a range of stories as a constituency MP. Those are mainly centred on Bradford Royal infirmary, and I want to share the story of a constituent whose son was born with complications from the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck. A late crash call was made after he had been delivered, but sadly he suffered catastrophic brain injury and was in a minimally conscious vegetative state. The women and her son were sent home with no diagnosis, and the child has grown up with epilepsy and other problems due to his brain injury.”
“It makes me angry that there has been another decade of more inquiries and reviews, with the recommendations going unheeded. That is why I am pleased to be an officer of the all-party parliamentary group on patient safety, and why I have worked with my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) and the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt) to make maternity safety one of our priorities on the APPG. It has been fantastic to join colleagues, including my hon. Friends the Members for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) and for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae), across all-party parliamentary groups to share our insights and to contribute to the Amos investigation.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I echo the thanks given by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) to all the petitioners who signed the petition, including 262 of my Shipley constituents. My interest in maternity safety goes back to the time, over a decade ago, when I was director of policy at the King’s Fund. We set up an inquiry into the safety of maternity services, which was chaired by Baroness Professor Onora O’Neill. Despite the fact that that work was done more than a decade ago, the failures that we hear about today are sadly all too familiar. What struck us at that time was that there had been many reports in the preceding decade, including confidential inquiries into maternal and infant deaths, and that the recommendations had not been implemented.”
“I am sorry but, respectfully, I am not going to give way. If the ambulance had routinely carried a neonatal meconium aspirator, that could have prevented the death of my friend’s daughter. My friend said: “I was not told who we could complain to following these experiences, or when we should do so.” Whether it is through a maternity commissioner or another way, we need to learn systemically from women’s experiences so that safety recommendations can be implemented. When we hear from Baroness Amos’s investigation, I hope that Ministers will finally act swiftly to implement her recommendations and back them up with investment, so that families can have confidence that when tragedies like those of my friend and those of my constituent occur, the system will genuinely learn, improve and take action.”
“Does the Minister agree that training obstetricians and midwives together as a team is an important part of creating that unified culture that we know is so important to underpin safety for mothers and babies?”
“According to Carers UK, 1.2 million unpaid carers in the UK live in poverty, and around half of carers cut back on essentials in 2025. There is a multitude of reasons for carer poverty. Many carers give up paid work, but many juggle paid work and unpaid care, often reducing their hours, harming their careers and impoverishing themselves. It is for all those reasons that the carer’s allowance overpayment scandal is hard to stomach.”
“I am proud that it was a Labour Government that introduced carer’s allowance back in 1976, and I am just as proud that this Labour Government and Chancellor increased the earnings threshold from £151 to £196 per week—the largest increase since the benefit was introduced—and again this month to £204 per week, as promised. The world has changed a lot since Harold Wilson was Prime Minister, but some things remain the same, and Labour is still putting its money where its mouth is and standing up for carers. Supporting carers should be a moral mission of any Government. There are 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK, and the economic value of their contribution is some £184 billion per year, which is more than the entire NHS budget in England. However, despite the value that carers bring to our society, we often fail to value them.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of Carer’s Allowance overpayments. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank Members for joining me here in Westminster Hall. I have committed my career to securing better care and support for older people and their family carers, and I continue that work here in Parliament as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers. This year marks a significant milestone for carers: it has been 50 years since carer’s allowance was first introduced. It was known originally as the invalid care allowance, and it was the first benefit to recognise the financial sacrifices of unpaid carers. It has made a huge difference, providing vital financial support to those who give 35 hours or more per week in unpaid care.”
“Thirdly, in the cases of those affected by the failure to adjust universal credit correctly, Sayce recommended that the DWP should pay UC arrears. I would be grateful if the Minister addressed whether the audit will include reviews for those missing groups.”
“However, I believe that there are several categories of people who have been adversely affected whose cases remain outstanding. The DWP appears to be accepting responsibility only for those affected by the unlawful guidance on average earnings and not for the lack of clear guidance on expenses deductions. Will the Minister ensure, as the audit begins, that the DWP fully addresses all aspects of maladministration? First, there should be consideration of cases in which the DWP held information regarding expenses but did not act on it or make corrections for many years. Secondly, I urge him to ensure that cases in which data has been “lost” by the DWP are dealt with as Liz Sayce recommended, and treated as cases of official error unless the DWP can prove otherwise.”
“Will the Minister update us on progress on the introduction of a taper system? Liz Sayce recommended a whole range of other reforms, from upgrading computer systems to using more empathetic language, improving the join-up between types of benefits and simplifying the system. I thank her and her team for completing this crucial task. I urge the Minister to implement the recommendations with urgency and to set out the timeline for doing so. Turning to those affected, I welcome yesterday’s announcement that the Government have launched an audit of more than 200,000 carer’s allowance cases affected by unclear Government guidance that was in place between 2015 and 2025. The cases will be reviewed, and debts potentially reduced, cancelled or refunded for some 25,000 unpaid carers. That is excellent news and I am sure the Minister will say more.”
“Among other things, the review called on the Government to reform the earnings averaging processes and guidance, as well as that for allowable expenses, so that there is clarity, transparency and predictability, and it called for a thorough reassessment of cases to right the wrongs and deliver redress. It called for creative short-term solutions to address the cliff-edge crisis, while the DWP works on a longer-term plan. That is vital. If someone earns one penny over the earnings limit, they have to pay back the whole weekly carer’s allowance. The Sayce review found that although the earnings limit cliff edge does not itself cause overpayments, it dramatically increases their scale and impact, negatively affecting people’s health, finances, wellbeing and opportunities to work.”
“As I have said, Helen’s is not an isolated case; thousands of carers are in this position, not as a result of failure on their part to report to and notify the DWP, but owing to a failure of Government. This scandal is a stain on the record of the British state. I therefore commend this Labour Government for asking Liz Sayce to conduct an independent review of carer’s allowance overpayments. She made it clear that overpayments were caused “not by widespread individual error by carers in reporting their earnings but by systemic issues preventing them from fulfilling their responsibility to report.” I welcome the fact that the Government have accepted the vast majority of her recommendations and set aside £75 million to implement them.”
“She was paid those every six months, but the Department for Work and Pensions considered them as monthly earnings. It stopped her carer’s allowance and informed her that she had incurred overpayments going back over four years. She was charged more than £2,000 and told to pay back £50 a week. In her words, “there was no care of how we would live or survive. It took me three very long years to repay the debt. It hung over like a great shadow, the letters, the fear of what could come. We were devastated by the department’s actions. Carers just don’t have bank balances that can stretch and withstand such pressures…you are so vulnerable…it shouldn’t be this difficult”.”
“I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman that the impact of the overpayments on carers is terrible, and I am going to share the story of someone who was affected. I am sure others have heard similar shocking stories. As many as one in five unpaid carers who claim carer’s allowance and work part time were hit with overpayments. Thousands of carers have been left with huge debts and the fear of financial ruin. Helen cares for her son Robin. He was born with a heart condition, respiratory vulnerabilities, developmental delay, mobility issues and Down’s syndrome. Helen gave up work as a teacher to support Robin and she relied on carer’s allowance. She also received some royalties for online resources that she had created as an education provider.”
“I ask the Minister for reassurance that he is confident that the senior team at DWP understand the nature of the harm done to carers, are fully committed to putting this right and do not adopt a defensive culture. On the 50th anniversary of carer’s allowance, I call on this Labour Government to right the wrongs caused by the state, which have parallels with the Post Office Horizon scandal, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali) said, and to put right the scandal of carer’s allowance overpayments so that our carers are paid what they deserve and not punished for the dedication and care they provide.”
“I am a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and we have requested that the DWP reports every six months on its progress on implementing the Sayce review. As a member of that Committee, I will certainly be keeping a close eye on progress. My final point is about the culture in the DWP. I have had the opportunity to challenge its senior officials in the Public Accounts Committee, and I was shocked by the culture on display, which clearly regarded the victims of Government incompetence as benefit fraudsters. It disturbs me that that culture has been prevalent for so long and that, despite knowing about carer’s allowance overpayments for many years, the Department did little or nothing. As a Committee, we are clear that the lack of integrated and concerted leadership from the Department exacerbated the crisis.”
“I had understood that we were also looking into opportunities to alert carers of potentially having breached the earnings limit. Is there anything in place to help communicate information from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or the DWP to carers?”
“I recently asked Shipley residents about their access to NHS dental services over the past two years. Over 1,100 respondents said that they could not see an NHS dentist when they needed to. I have heard from constituents who have had to go private, travel for hours to access NHS dentistry or resort to DIY dentistry. What progress is the Minister making to fix the rotten dentistry that we inherited from the previous Government?”
“2. What mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that communities are consulted on the use of Pride in Place funding in Shipley constituency.”
“A happy Easter to you, Mr Speaker. The Government’s £1.5 million impact fund for Bradford is critical to communities that have been overlooked for too long. I recently visited Windhill recreation ground in my local area, which is set to benefit from Pride in Place funding. Does the Secretary of State agree that after 14 years of brutal cuts to northern councils such as Bradford, this Labour Government are providing our local areas and communities with the investment they need?”
“I join the Prime Minister in thanking our armed forces who are protecting British citizens in the middle east, and I thank him, on behalf of my constituents, for his cool-headed leadership and firm decision not to join Trump’s illegal war. Will he reassure my constituents, who are worried about the cost of energy, that he is doing everything in his power to secure peace, reopen the strait of Hormuz and ensure that consumers are protected against rocketing energy prices?”
“I urge other places to look at what we are doing in West Yorkshire, and I encourage the Minister to work with colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions to support people who are not in education, employment or training, and others who may face additional barriers to getting into work. We need to make sure that public transport is accessible to all citizens. The Government are doing lots of really positive things, but I am keen to make sure that they take further action to improve the lives of disabled people. I am sure that the Minister will agree that there is more to be done if we are to guarantee access to public transport, which most of us take for granted, as a right for all.”
“I would like reassurance from the Minister that any new transport infrastructure, including buses, will meet high design standards for accessibility. Finally, I want to touch on affordability. Not only must disabled people be able to physically access transport; they must be able to afford it. Tracy Brabin, our fantastic Mayor of West Yorkshire, only a couple of weeks ago announced that once the Weaver Network—the franchised bus network—rolls out across West Yorkshire, disabled people will be entitled to use their bus pass before 9.30 am. This will help disabled workers get to work.”
“I am really proud of what the Government are doing to make it easier for local authorities and mayors to bring buses back into public ownership, and I was delighted to hear—as I am sure you were, Madam Deputy Speaker—that Bradford has just been awarded over £14 million to help with the roll-out of electric buses across our district. Special thanks go to council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, who has lobbied hard on this particular issue. These buses must be designed with accessibility in mind. That means visual and audio displays, a step that drops to the kerb and, as we have heard about in the debate, drivers receiving the necessary training and awareness so that they know how to accommodate disabled passengers.”