Speeches by Atkinson.

“Q9. Too many people are waiting too long for NHS mental health care, with over 6,000 adults waiting up to two years. In Sunderland, grassroots organisations like the wonderful Betsy Jenny café are providing support to our community, but they cannot substitute for timely, NHS-funded care. As the Government consult on th…”

“On wider partnership issues, we mentioned earlier that the drug strategy outlined the need for local combating drugs partnerships to be in place. I am interested in your assessment of how effective those partnerships are at the moment.”

“Motion lapsed, and sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(14)).”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, though I think the issue is not mainly financial; I will come on to that in a minute. As other Members have said, the key point is that treatments are dramatically more effective the earlier they are given: before symptoms appear and before irreversible damage is done. Once motor neurones a…”

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I will come on to talk about screening in just a minute.”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 755980 relating to spinal muscular atrophy and the newborn screening test. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Mundell, and a privilege to open the debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I want to begin with two little girls. In May last y…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is a matter of pace and of asking, “When?” not “If?” or “How?” because both those questions have already been answered. I turn to the Government’s response. The previous Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), met Jesy Nel…”

“I thank the hon. Member for making one of his excellent interventions. Clearly health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and Wales, where screening is also not available, but the hon. Member is absolutely right. It would be difficult to explain to parents anywhere in the UK why this screening is increasingly stan…”

“I thank the Minister for her remarks. As others have said, she is a diligent Minister, and I know that she will push this carefully with the Department. Would she consider meeting me, Jesy and SMA UK after she has had a chance to push some of those points? I thank all Members for their contributions today. Most of all,…”

“I will make a little progress and finish my point; I can see the time getting away and I want to make sure that other Members can speak. The question is why, when so much of the world has acted, the United Kingdom is moving so slowly. That caution sits oddly with the Government’s welcome ambition elsewhere. The generat…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I will come on to talk about the potential postcode lottery. I do not believe it is a decision for individual ICBs to make, but a national decision that includes the UK National Screening Committee, which I will come on to. The screening that I have described is already in place …”

“The hon. Lady is entirely right and I have heard a number of those heart-wrenching stories; she does well to speak so movingly on behalf of her constituent. That is a testament to the key intervention of getting a diagnosis as soon after birth as possible. Today, a baby with type 1 SMA is typically not diagnosed until …”

“How does the inspection and compliance regime, both your internal regime and the external regime with the Home Office, vary depending on the site, from dispersal accommodation all the way through to large sites?”

“Thank you for coming in this afternoon. Previous large sites operated by Clearsprings, including Napier and Wethersfield, had significant issues. How have you learned from past mistakes to ensure they are not repeated at Crowborough?”

“The standards are the same? The standards that are in every bedroom should be the same?”

“Internal inspection?”

“It should align but, in percentages, regardless of the number, what is the level of matching in numerical terms between the two? If you are finding 99% compliance but the Home Office is finding 80% compliance, it is a significant discrepancy.”

“The characterisation you have made of good engagement has been, it is fair to say, disputed, including by the local Member of Parliament—Madam Deputy Speaker, the right honourable Nusrat Ghani MP. What would you say to people who say that that engagement has not been good enough?”

“If you were to come back in, say, six months’ time, would you expect to have agreement on the core standards and, therefore, no reason why your internal compliance assessment would differ from the Home Office’s external compliance assessment?”

“You made a reference before to Home Office inspections. How frequently does the Home Office externally inspect your big sites as opposed to, say, this personal accommodation?”