Speeches by Atkinson.

“By way of introduction, could you outline to the Committee what you believe to be the scale and size of serious and organised crime in the UK?”

“Thank you. Could I ask other panel members to say a little bit about their perspective of how the threat is evolving over time?”

“Steve, you mentioned the national strategic assessment. I note that the different domains of organised crime are assessed in terms of their threat and harm levels and how they are changing over time. Could you say a little bit about the balance of the threats and risks? I notice that particularly in some areas, for exa…”

“My family sadly knows the devastating consequences of knife crime. As the Government launch their welcome action plan today, I think of my cousin David Charlton, who was killed with a knife in 2012. Reducing knife crime is a moral imperative, so that there are fewer families like David’s or indeed like the family of Co…”

“I thank the Minister for his response and the very welcome commitment that he has made to involve the family in the development of the statutory guidance. As he alludes to, family circumstances differ significantly and the person in the family best placed to keep a child safe may or may not have parental responsibility…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 731497 relating to a disclosure and safeguarding mechanism for at-risk children. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell, and to open this important debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. The petition creator, Gemma Chappell, is the …”

“Can the Minister outline how the new national homelessness strategy will provide additional funds to Sunderland city council to tackle rough sleeping and to support the vital work that organisations such as Oasis Community Housing, the Salvation Army and the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen do in our city?”

“I thank all Members for contributing to this important and serious debate. As we can tell from the Members present, this issue has a particular north-east focus, because it was our part of the world where Maya lived and was loved, and where she was tragically killed. However, this issue is far from specific to the nort…”

“Sunderland is a happier place than Mar-a-Lago at the moment. Perhaps that is why the leader of Reform UK, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), is visiting today, having called on the UK to do all we can to support the US and Israel’s war on Iran. But I am here to stand up for Sunderland, not for Donald Trump, so…”

“Along with Home Affairs Committee colleagues, I spent time in northern France last year seeing the challenges of intercepting small boats. The French maritime doctrine has clearly been an obstacle to adopting the more assertive tactics that my constituents wish and expect to see. Can the Minister outline the progress i…”

“Without saying your preferred outcome at this stage, as it depends on consultation responses, is it a potential outcome that the Government pursue mandatory digital checks and digital logins as you suggest, but do not take forward a Government-provided digital ID?”

“On that point, we heard evidence from the Association of Digital Verification Professionals. I think it fair to say that there was a level of scepticism about whether—given the industry’s 17-year track record of developing the technology, as you suggest—the Government would be able to catch up, and frankly about whethe…”

“Just picking up on that point, Chief Secretary, there was clearly significant public opposition to mandatory elements of this. There is purely mandatory, and then there is de facto mandating—that is, you might not need to have a right to work check, but if you want one, it has to be done through digital ID. Do you acce…”

“Chief Secretary, you have mentioned the provision of some other identity services through the private sector. What role do you see existing digital identity providers playing in the Government’s digital ID programme?”

“On reflection, given that prize, has the way this was initially announced as a mandatory thing risked undermining public opinion on the potential significant benefits that you outlined?”

“It is a joint bid, because the pressures facing the Ministry of Justice are a concern of all our Committees. Clearly, there are concerns about the prison system, the courts backlog and today’s announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister about jury trials and revising estimates for next year, which has an impact on issu…”

“We will try our best, Chair. Thank you for having us. As you said, this is a joint application from the three Committees; I am a member of the Home Affairs Committee. That reflects the fact that although this bid is specifically about the spending of the Ministry of Justice, it reflects the concern—[Interruption.] Oh, …”

“As Matt alluded to, there have been significant changes, including just today with the announcement of supplementary estimates in terms of the courts system. For example, there has been significant public concern about releases and the functioning of the prison system, in terms of prisoner transfers and so on that have…”

“Analysis by Rethink Mental Illness of the latest NHS waiting time statistics shows that people are eight times more likely to wait over 18 months for mental health treatment than physical health treatment. Does the Minister agree that waiting 18 months for such treatment is totally unacceptable? What steps will the Gov…”

“I was just 30 seconds into opening, Clive. Do you want to take over?”