Speeches by Atkinson.

“Do you have a view about how skewed the deployment of police officers in what could be staff roles is, and how that varies by force?”

“I will just come in on that point. My background is in the NHS. The CQC’s inspection framework of NHS trusts has a use of resources metric. It does not just pass comment; it sets a grade, in the “outstanding” to “inadequate” framework, on use of resources. Is there a role for more assertive and explicit grading of forc…”

“What happens if it is not? It should be, absolutely, but what happens if it is not? Given the changes that were announced by the Government the other week on police accountability through the Police and Crime Commissioners, what happens if a police force, even under different accountability arrangements going forward, …”

“That takes us on to what I was going to ask Dame Antonia about zooming out in terms of accountability for productivity. The NAO has highlighted five high-level barriers to productivity and we have talked about quite a number of them. The second one is really the one that we were talking about there: slow progress in ad…”

“For example, the NAO shows that, between 2019 and 2024, the number of officers in support functions increased by over 50%, or 3,000 officers. Can I just check my understanding? You might think that an efficient way of doing that would be by replacing some of those officers in support functions with, for example, an HR …”

“That is not necessarily 13,000 newly recruited officers.”

“Our creative industries offer huge opportunities for economic growth, and the Crown Works film studio in Sunderland will be a box office smash for jobs across the north-east. Last year, the Chancellor premiered investment to prepare the site, adding Government support to that of our Labour council and elected Mayor. Th…”

“I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement, particularly what she said about the more than 75,000 nurses working in our NHS who have arrived in this country since 2021. Those nurses and other healthcare professionals were actively encouraged to come here to fill the gaps left by the previous Government’s failure to do NH…”

“Can I be clear on the mandatory work checks? I hear really clearly that you are against mandatory digital ID for those checks—that’s taken as read. You will have heard the previous panel talk about a potential interpretation, or policy direction of Government, that mandatory work checks would have to be checked with Go…”

“Can you outline how you think the Government should account for digital exclusion when developing their plans for digital ID—whether that be mandatory or not?”

“But your view is that you could still do the right-to-work check with a digital ID for some, but via other means for people who did not want to hold a digital ID.”

“You are rightly raising some clear challenges with making it mandatory, but can I press you on whether a significant number of the benefits that you have identified, or indeed all of them, would still accrue if there was widespread but not mandatory adoption?”

“To check my understanding, you are saying that there could be a mandatory right to check against the central Government record. That might be done very easily via digital ID, for people who choose to use it, but equally it could be done separately, albeit more onerously, via someone saying, “If you don’t want a digital…”

“Just to be really clear, to what extent are the benefits of digital ID that you have identified contingent on making it mandatory, in your view?”

“We want to continue the UK’s proud history of offering sanctuary, while simultaneously reducing illegal channel crossings. Refugees fleeing persecution should seek safe and legal routes that are subject to full security checks and controls, not pay people-smuggling gangs to cross the channel in an uncontrolled and unsa…”

“What the people of Sunderland want is visible and responsive policing. There is no doubt about the decline in recent years. Northumbria lost 1,100 officers under the previous Government. How will the Minister ensure that the savings resulting from these changes are reinvested in the frontline, to improve neighbourhood …”

“That is fine for now, thank you.”

“Mr Glass, you mentioned the metrics that were included in the annual report and I wonder if I could zoom out. Dame Antonia, you took over leadership in April or May this year. Clearly, the last published report we have of the performance of the Home Office is up to March of this year. In the annual report that we have,…”

“I do not ask that with a particular example. Does the entire reporting infrastructure need to be reviewed or are you broadly happy with the reporting that has been done, but you know the pressure and clarity of accountability for delivery against those metrics is on?”

“The low public confidence in the Home Office is reflected in the performance report, and there was an adverse trajectory in 2024-25. Could you outline what you are doing to address the drop in public confidence in the work of the Home Office?”