Speeches by Atkinson.

“Fulwell community library, which is run by a fantastic team of volunteers led by Richard Beck, provides a welcoming space for people to enjoy books and a cuppa, as I did there the other week. In the centre of Sunderland, Culture House, the new home of our city library, will be opening soon, providing access to books an…”

“In the last year, Sunderland has shown that it is truly a city on the up. A new hospital, library, bridge, construction skills academy, offices and housing are all open or opening soon—all secured under a Labour council—and there are investment plans in place for the Crown Works film studio, expansion of the Metro to W…”

“To continue testing independence from Government, the inspectorate is clearly independent of Government and appointed by the Crown. However, there is a recognition that the inspectorate will need to take account of the Government’s priorities at the time, and the policy environment they set for fire and rescue services…”

“My follow-up question was going to be: can you tell us about a time when you thought the Government or a politician were putting pressure on you, or expecting a certain course of action that you did not feel appropriate? How did you feel able to push back and challenge Government Ministers, or assert your independence,…”

“As you said, it is fair to say that our predecessor Committee and another independent report identified cultural issues in the fire and rescue service across the country, and in specific forces. There was the tragic death of firefighter Jaden Francois-Esprit in London that prompted review and consideration. Could you s…”

“The GP patient satisfaction survey results are out, and I am really proud that the Sunderland Central and Sunderland East PCNs show a satisfaction rating of 83%—notably higher than the national average. Will the Minister join me in thanking everyone who works in primary care in Sunderland? Equally, does he recognise th…”

“On the inspection framework for fire and rescue, how would you ensure that the inspectorate was hearing the experiences of frontline staff?”

“That is really important. My final question is specific to fire and rescue authorities. The previous Government published a fire reform White Paper setting out plans for system-wide reform to strengthen fire and rescue services. Do you have views on that White Paper and any initial views on what should be taken forward…”

“Sir Andy, to pick up on a point you made about the cost or burden of inspection for forces and services, I have heard feedback that, at a time of really constrained budgets in both policing and fire and rescue services, it does not feel like that burden is quantified, or that there is a concerted effort to reduce it wh…”

“The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. In my constituency, we have the National Glass Centre building—a huge building, built 30 years ago, that unfortunately does not seem viable for its current use any longer. Rather than demolishing that building, as some are seeking to do, the council has been asked to conside…”

“I thank the Minister for the point she is making about the role of local government. I think she heard what I said to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) about the National Glass Centre in my constituency. Would she encourage planning authorities, such as Sunderland city council, to fully consider alter…”

“Asylum and immigration are key concerns for my constituents, and their judgment on the asylum system that this Government inherited is clear and correct: the system was broken, lacked control and cost taxpayers too much. By that, they do not just mean illegal and dangerous crossings of the channel; they mean that it wa…”

“I thank the Minister and the steering group for their work. Their findings that disabled people find the assessment process dehumanising and stressful reflect the conversations that my constituents have had with me. Paragraph 64 of the review finds that “the reliance on PIP has likely increased due to difficulty access…”

“The hon. Member is doing an excellent job of expressing the moral outrage shared by constituents from Herefordshire to Sunderland to Sheffield, but does she agree that if it is possible for international groups to find origin fraud relating to goods that originate from illegal settlements on the west bank, but are inco…”

“I am the MP for Sunderland Central and a member of the Home Affairs Committee. My interests are all on my declaration of interests: there is nothing particularly relevant to bring to attention today.”

“Ministers have claimed that appeals currently being lodged late in the process can further elongate timescales. Their contention is that potential changes of process in the proposed alternative body would remove some delay. Do you see that as a key issue alongside the capacity of the current first-tier tribunal?”

“Are there any statistics for the number of relatively late appeals or new grounds for appeal being submitted late? Can you quantify the number of individuals who would be affected by the removal of those and their replacement? Can we distinguish a subset of children or others who are affected, versus how far this is co…”

“I will start on the policing side. We are in a situation where you have outlined that county lines and other elements of supply run across police forces and so on, and we know about regional organised crime units. How do neighbouring police forces work together at the moment where there are cross-border issues?”

“On the classification regime and changes in demand, the idea that classifying something as class A is in itself a deterrent and that will affect demand for that drug.”

“I can see Mr Court wants to come in. I am particularly interested in the proposals in the police reform White Paper, which clearly look to regionalise forces. We do not know what will happen and we do not know the potential boundaries, but in the context of, say, five forces operating together within a region and shari…”