Sir Nicholas Dakin

Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill

I would like to know more.

Public Baths and Lidos

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I am pleased to respond to this lively and informative debate, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) on securing it and such good attendance, too. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions; I think I have collected invitations to Peterborough, Carlisle, Worthing, Stockport, Matlock and the as-yet-to-be-built sea pool on the Isle of Wight.

Public Baths and Lidos

My hon. Friend’s energy and willingness to work with Crook Community Leisure speaks for itself, but I will certainly take away that question and share it with the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock). She was meant to respond to the debate, but unfortunately, due to the change in the voting pattern, she needed to get the last train to Cornwall at 7 pm, so she sends her apologies to hon. Members. She is disappointe

Public Baths and Lidos

I absolutely do, and my hon. Friend moves me on to my next point. Before I come to it, though, let me emphasise that we are acting on the 10-year health plan by developing a national plan for physical activity. That plan will set out how the Government are working across sectors, from health to sport to transport, to enable everyone, and particularly the least active, to access physical activity and benefit from social connection and improved wellbeing. My hon. Friend rightly raises the importan

Public Baths and Lidos

Tomorrow, he will be splashing. He invited me to drop into Peterborough as I pass by on my way home to Scunthorpe, but unfortunately I am not sure that I will be able to do that. Lidos are not only a vital part of our culture; they offer a great contribution to our health and wellbeing, too. We heard about the restoration of Worthing lido to its former glory. We heard about the value of Brockwell lido, which my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) talked about at gre

County Durham: Cultural Opportunities

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairing, Ms Vaz. I am pleased to respond to this debate, and congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) on securing it. My hon. Friend has spoken with great passion, conviction and authority about the flourishing of the arts and the challenge to the arts in her constituency. She is right that culture should never be just the preserve of people with the deepest pockets; it is in the veins of all of us. She is also right to iden

Draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal Of Prisoners For Deportation Order 2025) (First sitting)

I thank the Opposition spokesman for those closing comments. I wish him and his colleagues, you, Ms McVey, and, indeed, all members of the Committee well for the forthcoming recess. I am sure that he was referring to potential reshuffles among the Opposition rather than anywhere else. I am grateful to him for recognising that this Government are going much further than the Government whom he supported did over their 14 years in office. Much as I like him, I do feel that often his contributions t

Draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal Of Prisoners For Deportation Order 2025) (First sitting)

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal of Prisoners for Deportation) Order 2025. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair again, Ms McVey. As the Committee knows, when this Government came to power we inherited a prison system in crisis. From January 2023 to September 2024, the adult male prison estate routinely operated at over 99% capacity. Had we exceeded maximum capacity, the consequences would have been unthinkable: with nowhere to put

Draft Sentencing Act 2020 (Amendment of Schedule 21) Regulations 2025

I am grateful that the spokesman for His Majesty’s Opposition recognises that the draft regulations build on the work of the previous Government in a right and proper way, taking those decisions forward. It is disappointing that he does not recognise some responsibility for the situation that we inherited in the prison estate with overcrowding, and in the courts with people having to wait so long to have their trial. That is why we are having to address these issues in the round. But that is not

Draft Sentencing Act 2020 (Amendment of Schedule 21) Regulations 2025

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Sentencing Act 2020 (Amendment of Schedule 21) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. As the Committee will be aware, in December last year my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor made a written statement to the House concerning the independent domestic homicide sentencing review, which announced the Government’s plans to implement two of the review’s outstanding recommendations. In opposition,