Speeches by Atkinson.

“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…”

“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?”

“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…”

“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…”

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

“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, …”

“The Minister mentioned strengthening the process for direct ministerial appointments. Could he say a little more about that and how quickly he believes those strengthened processes will be put in place?”

“Roker park is loved by our community, and there is loads going on there—from bowls and model boating to a miniature railway. Recently, I met some of the volunteers who keep the park so vibrant, along with Councillor David Newey, who has attracted investment for the restoration of the bandstand and the installation of n…”

“Network Rail has rightly apologised for its failure to deliver a functional Sunderland station following refurbishment. We now have the bare basics in place, and plans for improvement. Will the Secretary of State join me in asking Northern Rail to get on with delivering those improvements, and will she arrange a meetin…”

“In terms of the regulatory environment and perhaps other considerations, is the Met now in a position to be able to attract and retain the firearms officers it needs to keep London safe?”

“You have previously called for changes in the accountability regime for firearms officers, and the Government proposed some of those towards the end of last year. Can you give us your view about the changes that have been proposed?”

“You made a number of changes to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection command. To what extent has the culture there changed?”

“So it would contribute to building a positive culture as opposed to tackling a negative culture?”

“To finish off on the standards piece, what is your response to the Government’s proposals on a licence to practise, and how do you see that linking to how you do standards work in the future?”

“I wish to thank NHS cancer teams in Sunderland for doing such incredible work in my constituency. Other Members have mentioned the unacceptable variation in NHS performance against waiting times, and I commend the Minister’s focus on that. Can she say a little about the variation in waiting times by tumour site? In Nov…”

“When you call the police, they should come. When you report a crime, it should be properly investigated. But too many constituents of mine, and I am sure many others, do not feel that that is currently the case. Recognising that you have set out a longer implementation period for macro change, what can constituents of …”

“Will that be coming in more quickly? In the next year or two, will people be able to start seeing those standards?”

“There is a set of communities that would say, “We never came seeking public funds,” and that decoupling recourse to public funds and settled status—for example, by linking it to citizenship rather than settled status—would be an option that would increase integration and manage the recourse to the public purse. Is that…”

“Specifically on that point, Home Secretary, accepting everything you have said—there has been abuse, and no one would doubt the Home Office’s work on clamping down on that—that would mean there are 40,000 people currently in the country genuinely working as adult social care workers. The ministerial foreword to the soc…”