Speeches by Atkinson.

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I agree with him—as does Rod Liddle, a journalist who did not support changing the law and was an opponent of the Bill. He said: “The truth, I am ashamed to say, is that in the case of the assisted dying Bill, my side won by cheating…What was not right was for opponents …”

“No, I am going to finish now. More in Common reports a shift from frustration to anger among the general public—not on this issue specifically but because it is too difficult to get things done in this country. There is a sense that our institutions are broken and that action is blocked at every turn. That cannot be he…”

“I note that the Scottish Parliament democratically came to a judgment on the devolved issue of hospice funding that the hon. Gentleman mentioned. The arguments he made were aired extensively before Third Reading and the Commons made its judgment clear. I will turn to my conclusions, as I know a lot of Members wish to s…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and regional colleague for her intervention. The Parliament Act was explicitly designed to include provision for private Members’ Bills and it has been used on issues of conscience before. I also question the idea of contention. There is no doubt that assisted dying is a really serious matter, bu…”

“You want me to make progress, Sir Edward, so I will. The question then turns to what happens now. What does this mean for assisted dying, yes, but also for the British constitutional settlement? As part of my preparation for this debate, I spoke to Tom Brake, CEO of Unlock Democracy, which campaigns for constitutional …”

“I do.”

“I have already given way to the hon. Member.”

“I will finish my point. Fundamentally, the question is whether we can achieve social change in this country through parliamentary means, or not. I will just go back to how Sophie, the key petitioner, felt. She summed it up in the following way: “I’m living with incurable cancer and I know how precious time becomes when…”

“Apologies—my right hon. Friend may not have spoken, but many other Members certainly made that argument, and it was a key argument for voting against the Bill on Third Reading. We either believe in parliamentary democracy and in the primacy of the House of Commons where each of us independently reaches our judgment—I a…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for her intervention, and I respect her significant experience and expertise in this place. Again, though, I gently say that that very argument was well rehearsed; in fact, I think she made it on Third Reading. And the judgment collectively of MPs was that it did not carry.”

“The Milburn report identifies a state failure to provide timely and appropriate mental health support—and this is just about child and adolescent mental health services, up to adult services. Most tellingly, it states that there are no waiting time targets for mental health services. Will the Minister have a conversati…”

“The Milburn report identifies a state failure to provide timely and appropriate mental health support—and this is just about child and adolescent mental health services, up to adult services. Most tellingly, it states that there are no waiting time targets for mental health services. Will the Minister have a conversati…”

“The history of the NHS shows that there is no one way of securing improvement or accountability, and that a range of different mechanisms have a role. Patient voice, patient choice, performance management—including centralised performance management—planning, democratic challenge, competition and collaboration all have…”

“I have a set of questions about your interactions with both previous inquiries and existing programmes. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse had a report specifically on organised networks. First, can I ask about your reflections on that report and any conversations you have had with Professor Jay around tha…”

“Since the conclusion of the IICSA inquiry, clearly there have been a number a further developments and further actions or inspections. For example, we are aware of the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme set up by the police. We know the HMICFRS recently did an inspection report on the effectiveness of that. Coul…”

“Regarding the policing operation now—Operation Beaconport—can you say a little more about your experience of negotiating and agreeing the memorandum of understanding? In particular, what assurance can you give victims and survivors that your work will in no way impede the full force of criminal investigation to continu…”

“Professor Jay said that the Government’s response to her report was “awful”. She said, “I cannot tell you how it felt” to read the final printed version and that, “It was inconsequential, insubstantial, committed to nothing.” IICSA was, I think, commissioned when Theresa May was Home Secretary in 2014, and it obviously…”

“But what are your reflections on the learning, to make sure that you do not make new recommendations that are not actioned or are not seen to be relevant by whoever happens to be in government at the time?”

“Will that include, for example, Ministers who were in position at the time, in the same way that you said that you would potentially hold local politicians to account?”

“Can I ask about how far people feel safe to seek support services? In one of my previous roles, I worked for the NHS in Gateshead, which as you know has a significant Jewish community. I am very aware of the mental health impact of the level of antisemitism that the community must be facing. How would you say people’s …”