Catherine Atkinson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Feb 2026 · Household Energy Bills · Hansard source

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  Last year, I teamed up with the local Labour council cabinet member for the cost of living and my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) to launch a free local pension advice service, which has delivered over half a million pounds to eligible pensioners in Derby. It has helped with pension credit, home heating tips, fire safety advice and utility deals, and has even provided free draught excluders and radiator insulators. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure people know about the support they can get to reduce household bills?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. The beautiful River Derwent, which powered the early industrial revolution, flows through Derby and up to the Peak district. I have met local councils, MPs and our East Midlands Mayor as well as many local and regional organisations that agree that turning our existing rambling walks and cycle paths into a continuous river walk would have massive health, economic and wellbeing benefits. Will the Minister please provide an update on establishing regional river walks?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Protecting Young People Online · Hansard source

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  6. What steps her Department is taking to help protect young people online.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Protecting Young People Online · Hansard source

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  I have heard from many parents in Derby who want to know that their children are properly protected when they go online, not left exposed to harmful content or addictive design features. I have also spoken to many young people who are also concerned about what they face online. Can the Minister set out how, in addition to listening to the voices of organisations representing children and bereaved families, which is vital, we put children and young people at the heart of this national conversation and ensure that their voices are heard too?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Town and City Centre Safety · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is setting out brilliantly some of the regeneration that we are seeing in our city. From the new performance venue, Vaillant Live, and the redevelopment of the Friar Gate Goods Yard, to the £20 million that the Government are investing in the Guildhall and Derby theatres, it is regeneration that he has played a central part in, both as council leader and, now, as an MP. He is absolutely right that the long-awaited demolition of the Assembly Rooms and the regeneration of that site will be transformational for our marketplace—the icing on the Birds Bakery cake. But does he agree that people will go into the city centre and enjoy that regeneration only if they feel safe to do so? Does he agree that more bobbies on the beat and further investment in our CCTV—issues that we have both been working on—are essential so that everyone feels safe to live, work and play in our city?

• 28 Jan 2026 · Health Inequalities: Women · Hansard source

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  Earlier this month, Derby County Community Trust launched its “See you at your smear” campaign, encouraging women across the city to visit the pop-up cervical screening clinics that are in place until March. The trust does amazing work on women’s health. We know that increasing the uptake of smear tests is very important as, nationally, one in three women are overdue. Will the Minister outline what work she is undertaking with the Health Secretary to improve smear test uptake?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Business Rates · Hansard source

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  It is understandable that covid-era business rates support needs to come to an end, and the 15% cap on increases for most hospitality businesses is a really important protection. I particularly welcome the Government’s acknowledgment of the central role that pubs—such as the Paddock in Chaddesden, the White Swan in Littleover and so many more across Derby—play in our communities. Will the Government continue to listen to and work with pubs, so that we can ensure they have certainty for the long term?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

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  Those responsible for organised crime, fraud and terrorism do not operate within the boundaries of local police forces, so I welcome a joined-up, national approach to those types of crime. However, residents in Derby also want more visible policing in our city centre and local communities, and that is what we have been working to deliver. Can the Home Secretary tell us more about how the reforms will empower local forces to respond more effectively to everyday crime and antisocial behaviour?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  This week, I met 19-year-old Jack Billingham, a third-year Derby Rolls-Royce apprentice who won gold at the national welding championships in November and who is representing the UK at the WorldSkills international competition in Japan. I had a go at virtual-reality welding, and I admit that Jack’s score was a little higher than mine. At a time when the UK faces a national shortage of welders and of those with other critical manufacturing skills, could we have a debate on how we can strengthen the skills pipeline and support apprenticeships for good, skilled British manufacturing jobs?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  Does the right hon. Lady agree that the issue is not just fares but routes? Derbyshire had a 60% loss of bus routes in the 15 years up to 2023. Would she say that it is hugely disappointing that for such a long time, most of which was under her party’s Government, bus routes have been slashed?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  According to the RAC, Derbyshire has the worst potholes in the country. East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has announced £121 million for road maintenance, which is a 60% uplift on last year’s funding. But with Reform in control of the county council, the number of potholes in Derbyshire is still absolutely abysmal. With both our mayor and our Government giving the funding that is needed, how can we ensure that local authorities such as Reform-led Derbyshire county council actually get on and fill our potholes?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is very effectively making an important point. As she has set out, between 2019 and 2024, the Conservative Government gave the east midlands a quarter of the funding that they gave to London and half of what they gave to England on average, and I know that her area does not benefit from the £2 billion that our brilliant East Midlands Mayor Claire has secured for transport. Does my hon. Friend agree that if our regional transport was more equal, it would create more prosperity, economic growth, social equality and regional development?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Water White Paper · Hansard source

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  I have seen at first hand the brilliant work that the volunteers of the Earl of Harrington’s angling club and the Midland canoe club do to test water quality and to clear up and look after our waterways, including our beautiful River Derwent. How will the action that this Government are taking ensure that river pollution and sewage are tackled, and not left to volunteers to clear up, while also bringing down water bills?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source

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  In government, the Conservative party oversaw a disastrous privatisation of probation, which ended in a £500 million bail-out by taxpayers. Our Probation Service plays a critical role in the rehabilitation of offenders and in keeping our communities safe, so can the Minister further set out how the Bill will ensure that our probation systems are strengthened and fit for purpose?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The temporary bridge at Darley Abbey Mills was forced to close before Christmas due to sudden riverbank deterioration. No one is legally liable for the old bridge, and despite not owning it, the council built a temporary one in 2022 and is assessing whether it can be safely reopened. Our East Midlands Mayor has funded work to explore plans for a new bridge, but in the meantime, businesses have lost vital footfall and residents are worried about being cut off entirely if there is flooding. I have had many local meetings, but could the Leader of the House advise me on the best way to seek additional Government support when no one is liable for essential infrastructure, such as Darley Abbey bridge?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  In October, I shared that the Stockbrook Colts, a local grassroots football club for over 250 children, had to stop play because its pitch was unusable. I am pleased to report that Stockbrook Park now has planning permission for a new play zone, with a football pitch and floodlighting. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the Colts, the local councillors and the whole community? Will she set out what steps are being taken to improve grassroots football facilities in Derby and across the country?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Hundreds of new homes are being built at the Friar Gate goods yard, originally a 19th-century rail depot. This development is near the city centre, but other housing that was built further out under the Conservatives went up with inadequate transport infrastructure and little thought for public transport. What is being done to ensure that new homes have the transport infrastructure that they need?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I recently visited Derby athletic club and met volunteers including Ernie, who is 100 years old and has been volunteering for more than 70 years. I know that Ernie doesn’t like a fuss, but will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Ernie for his incredible commitment, and will he consider how we might best celebrate the work of volunteers in grassroots sport across the country?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Passenger Rail Services · Hansard source

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  I met East Midlands Railways to give the new ticketless travel app it is trialling a go. It is exciting new tech that will ensure passengers always pay the best price for travel. EMR says that that system should save passengers money and, with capped prices, will mean cheaper fares. Does the Minister agree that alongside the freezing of rail fares, innovation such as this could make a real difference to passengers’ experience and to their pockets?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  There are a huge number of additional measures that will be rolled out, and I look forward to continuing to engage with Justice Ministers on other measures that I believe will help. We have more coming after the next stage of the Leveson review. We need bold action to ensure justice for victims across the country—and not years in the future. They need a criminal justice system that works. We all—the British people—need to have faith in our criminal justice system again.

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  In light of the shadow Minister’s comments, does he think it was wrong of the then Conservative Government, through the Criminal Justice Act 1988, to make offences such as criminal damage and common assault summary only, removing juries for those offences?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend consider how Conservative Governments were wrong to reduce the number of types of offences heard by juries? Does he agree that it is absolutely necessary to see some modernisation, acknowledging that criminal trials and the evidence presented in those trials has changed over the years?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  In the light of the shadow Minister’s comments about sitting days, does he condemn the Conservative cut of nearly 15% of sitting days in 2019 and congratulate this Labour Government on increasing the number of sitting days?