Peter Aldous: indicated assent.
Peter Aldous: I beg to move, That this House has considered Colleges Week 2022. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Murray. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate, in which we shall consider, celebrate and reflect on Colleges Week and the work that colleges do in local communities all over the UK. We are actually a week late, as Colleges Week was last week. The...
Peter Aldous: I agree wholeheartedly. Later in my speech, I will highlight some of the strategic working that is required to make the most of the opportunities in the offshore energy sector that are emerging not just on the east coast, but all around the UK. I have the privilege and honour of chairing the all-party parliamentary group for further education and lifelong learning, for which the Association...
Peter Aldous: We have had a full and productive debate. I will quickly run through a few points—I apologise if I miss any hon. Members. The right hon. Member for Knowsley (Sir George Howarth) rightly highlighted the importance of addressing oral cancer quickly. I take on board his proposal for the short-term fast-tracking of emergency support. My hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul...
Peter Aldous: I beg to move, That this House is concerned by the growing crisis in NHS dentistry; notes that nine out of ten dental practices in England do not accept new NHS patients; regrets the number of dentists moving away from NHS practice; welcomes the Government’s commitment to levelling up health outcomes and dental health across the country; calls on the Government to take urgent steps to...
Peter Aldous: I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention, and I agree wholeheartedly with him on that point. I will come on to it as I set out what I believe needs to be done to improve the situation, but I think he and I are very much on the same page on that issue. First, I will address the issue of funding. There is a need to secure a long-term funding stream. In recent years, the NHS dental...
Peter Aldous: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, which came at an appropriate time. Indeed, he may well have been reading my speech, because that was the next point I was coming to. In the short term, we need to be stepping up recruitment from abroad. Although the legislation tabled earlier this month to streamline the process of recognising overseas qualifications is welcome, that will not...
Peter Aldous: The past 10 years have been remarkably successful, with the offshore wind industry and the Government working hand in hand. The industry has raised genuine concerns, which I briefly outlined in relation to clauses 16, 19 and 21, about the direction of that relationship and how it is being imperilled. Will the Minister agree to meet the industry and address those concerns as the Bill progresses?
Peter Aldous: I am largely supportive of the Bill, as there is an urgent need for assistance to be delivered at speed to hard-pressed families and businesses, but it is important to avoid any unintended negative consequences for other key Government objectives, in particular energy security, the transition to net zero and the full deployment of renewables and low-carbon forms of energy production. My...
Peter Aldous: I welcome my right hon. Friend to his new role and commend him for the prompt and decisive action he has already taken. He has rightly said that the Government wish to protect the most vulnerable. With that in mind, taking into account the parameters he has already set out, may I urge him to confirm as soon as practically possible that benefits will be uprated in line with inflation? In doing...
Peter Aldous: I will contribute very quickly, Madam Deputy Speaker, if you will give me the opportunity. My hon. Friend the Member for Broadland (Jerome Mayhew) has set out a great vision of a future in which East Anglia, Norfolk and Suffolk have high-quality dentistry schools. That is great, but we need a bridge to get to that future, because two dentistry schools will take some time to set up. Does he...
Peter Aldous: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and apologise for hijacking his debate. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. This is a multifaceted challenge; there is no one solution and no one golden bullet. We need to address all the points, and he is right to raise that one.
Peter Aldous: I speak as an MP with a foot in both camps: I am a Suffolk MP but I also represent the Norfolk and Waveney integrated care system area. Does my hon. Friend agree, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Tom Hunt) said, that it is very important that the two proposals being put together by the University of Suffolk and the University of East Anglia are collaborative and worked on together,...
Peter Aldous: rose—
Peter Aldous: In the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth area there is already an enterprise zone that has been very successful, although the land allocated needs to be adjusted to take advantage of the opportunities in offshore energy and a revived fishing industry. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the existing enterprise zone will benefit from the opportunities that will be provided for the investment...
Peter Aldous: It is welcome to hear that D is for dentists. As a constituency neighbour, my right hon. Friend is very much aware that there is a crisis in NHS dentistry in Suffolk. There have been some improvements, and it is welcome, as she has said, that work has started on a new NHS dental contract. Can she confirm that she is committed to root and branch reform, which also includes fair funding, a...
Peter Aldous: I rise on behalf of the people of Waveney to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen. With the nation’s guiding light taken from us, there was last night for a moment, from my perspective, a sense of helplessness. What do we do? How are we going to get on without her? The answer is that we learn from the high standards of dignity, duty and humility to which she adhered throughout both her life...
Peter Aldous: It is a privilege to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Sally-Ann Hart) on securing this debate, and I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting it. I represent Waveney, the most easterly constituency in the United Kingdom. Lowestoft, the principal town, was formerly the fishing capital of the southern North sea....
Peter Aldous: It is great to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. We have had a wide-ranging debate, so I will quickly go through some of the issues we have discussed. The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake) took me back nearly 40 years to one of my favourite films, “Trading Places”, which is all about speculation on the commodities market. That might have been funny, but she raised a serious...
Peter Aldous: I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of support for local food infrastructure. It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Mr Robertson. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate. At the outset, I should declare my own interests. For many years, I have been a partner in two family farms in Suffolk, and from this June I chair a community...