Business of the House

Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I encourage the hon. Gentleman to apply for an Adjournment debate, to hear from the Minister directly. I expect he would find that the Government share his ambition for contracts and work to go to British companies. That is at the heart of our industrial strategy.

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman) mentioned PFI contracts earlier—a particularly pertinent subject as many of them come to an end. That is impacting a number of schools in my constituency, where work is suddenly not being done and costs are going up. One school has carried out a survey that says it will cost £3.5 million to bring the school back up to a safe standard, but it is concerned that the company that should be doing the work will declare itself bankrupt, leaving the school and the local authority with the bill. I suspect that that is not an isolated case and that Members across the House will be aware of similar issues. Can we have a debate in Government time on PFI contracts and their impact on public services?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As the hon. Gentleman has just heard, that concern is shared across the House. I invite him to apply for a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate, so that he and colleagues on both sides of the House can raise those concerns.