Speeches by Atkinson.

“I understand the temptation to distinguish between urban, rural and coastal communities, but does the Minister recognise that urban communities such as mine in Sunderland are also coastal communities? By the limitations of geography, our economic activity is limited by 180°, and there are particular issues regarding tr…”

“Will the Minister elaborate on funding for brownfield sites? In my constituency, we have Riverside Sunderland, the most ambitious city centre regeneration project in the UK. That is only possible because of £30 million of Homes England funding, which will create more than 800 homes. Does she agree that it is somewhat h…”

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“I fondly remember the vibrant cultural scene during my time in Broadstairs. Too many grassroots music venues risk facing their own “Waterloo” at the moment.”

“I entirely agree. The title of this Bill includes the words “community empowerment” and “devolution”. I want my community in Sunderland to be empowered: to have the powers to ensure that our key cultural venues—such as Pop Recs, Independent and the Bunker—retain protections from further development around them. I turn …”

“I will speak to Lords amendment 41, regarding putting the agent of change principle on a statutory basis, particularly ensuring that new developments have a noise impact assessment when they are near grassroots music venues. I support the Government’s plans to increase house building, and I recognise that genuine care …”

“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?”

“We have mentioned that sometimes the impacts on communities are not immediately visible. Catherine, from a neighbourhood policing perspective here, and thinking about my own constituency, I think residents are very aware of drug-related behaviours and activities, whether they connect them to wider organised crime netwo…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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?”